Seldom Woods
by syrraki
Summary: Sasuke takes a walk and finds something unexpected. A story about friendship, loneliness, and distance. NarutoxSasuke
1. Chapter 1

**Seldom Woods**

_October_

Sasuke's mother loved it when her youngest son visited her.

"I need him to keep me youthful," she had joked when people commented on how she spoilt him whenever he was home for the weekend. That Sasuke attended the boarding school in the next town over had been an issue of tension in the Uchiha household. Sasuke's father had held the view that it was the best education he could get, and Itachi had excelled there. Sasuke's mother had disliked having her son live away from home, but acquiesced in the end, as she always did.

However, she needn't have worried. Sasuke met with his parents every single weekend. Then and now.

"To keep you youthful," Sasuke said to the cold marble. "Not that there's any need for that anymore."

Sasuke had never left flowers. He said that was because his father hated the idea, why give someone a gift that would die in just a few days and have to be thrown away? The truth was he couldn't bring himself to go anywhere near a florist, because the scent of pollen, the fragrance of flowers, and the vibrant colours always reminded him of his mother. And of how grey the world was without her.

* * *

There was nowhere that he had to be. It was the half-term holiday, and the days stretched out before and behind him, with no distinction, letting them run together as the summer turned to autumn.

In these days, Sasuke had gained a fondness for taking long walks. It wasn't the nature, or the fresh air that he enjoyed, but the utter blankness that he could project onto his mind, letting everything just wash away.

As with most days, he let his feet lead the way. The village that the school was based in was small and located at the bottom of a hill, bordered on three sides by dense forest. Getting lost was not something Sasuke ever worried about.

He took a familiar path without really noticing, going across the canal by a moss covered stone bridge and following an old track through the trees. During term-time, the forest was most definitely off-limits, but in the holidays no one kept tabs on him, and he was able to wander as he liked. He rarely met anyone else amongst the trees, the meagre population of the village meant it was rare for anyone to venture out, and if they did- it was a big forest.

The forest was always quiet. Quieter than Sasuke would have expected, and walking through it was easy to imagine that he was the only person in the world. At this time of year it was a blur of golds and browns as the trees surrendered their leaves even while a little weak sunshine, left over from the summer, persisted.

Once, years ago, before Sasuke went to the school, Itachi used to take him for walks in the forest, letting him run about collecting pine cones to varnish and conkers to bore holes in and thread string through, and anything else that caught his attention.

"Do the woods have a name?" Sasuke had asked once, on a whim.

"Yes, 'Seldom Woods'," Itachi had told him. It had seemed normal enough to him as a child, and as he'd grown, the name had stuck. He had never heard anyone but Itachi call them that and half-imagined that his older brother had just made it up. But sometimes when he walked through, Sasuke let the blankness of his mind be breached to consider that it might be true, and why.

The name was what Sasuke was contemplating that day, and aided by the rarely broken quiet, he was so deeply entrenched in thought that he very nearly noticed nothing at all.

The first thing that occurred to Sasuke, was that perhaps the rumours he had heard in first year, that murderers dragged their victims out between the trees and then hid the evidence, was true. It was with morbid curiousity, and just the first trembling of fear in his stomach that he veered off his chosen path.

The leaves shredded under his footsteps as he stepped slowly closer, watching as the body came into view. Surrounded by a mosaic of leaves; green, red and gold, it was almost camouflaged. Sasuke came to a stop near its feet, about a metre away, and just looked.

The corpse was of a boy around his age, with blond hair mingling in with the leaves that were layered so thickly that none of the dark ground was visible. He was laid flat on his back, with no signs of blood, though Sasuke didn't think that meant anything. He had his hands folded on his stomach, which, Sasuke realised with a jolt, was moving.

It was just slight; the subtle up-and-down that accompanied deep, slow breathing. The corpse, was just asleep. Sasuke frowned, a little annoyed with himself for jumping to an unnecessary conclusion, and a little annoyed with the other boy for lying on the ground like that, and for looking so strangely at home. The level of comfort displayed almost made Sasuke consider lying down himself.

While Sasuke was wearing a long black wool coat, the boy was only in a red jacket and scuffed jeans. Wasn't he cold, Sasuke wondered? He was lying in a patch of weak October sunlight, but the air still held a chill.

Perhaps he was sick. People didn't just wander out into the woods and lie there. Sasuke had done a mandatory first aid course, and could remember how to put someone in the recovery position, but he felt a little reluctant.

All of a sudden- as he noticed that the other boy had lines like whiskers on his face, that didn't look like scars, but surely couldn't be tattoos- Sasuke felt like he was intruding. Ge felt as though the boy was doing something private and that the right thing to do, far from attempting the recovery position, would be to take the few steps back onto the path and carry on as though he hadn't seen this at all.

Decided, he was about to move, when there was the slightly shifting, accompanied by a rustling of leaves, and the boy opened his eyes.

The first thing Sasuke noticed was that the boy's eyes were blue, which was strange, because he was standing some distance away, and it would be odd to notice such a detail, but he was very, very sure that they were blue.

Sasuke swallowed, trying to think of something to say as the boy's gaze landed on him after a few sleepy blinks. The boy didn't seem at all surprised to find himself sleeping in the middle of a forest. Instead, he leaned up just a little and looked at Sasuke with half-lidded eyes, as though he expected Sasuke to be there, and was just reaffirming it. Then, he smiled. He smiled in a way that made Sasuke wonder if he wasn't still half asleep, and then leaned back down and closed his eyes.

There was no noise except the wind through the trees, and dried leaves skittering across the ground, and no real way to tell how much time had passed, but eventually, Sasuke realised that the boy really had just fallen asleep again.

Irritated, for no reason in particular, Sasuke snorted, turned and made his way back to the path.

* * *

After finishing the section of maths that his teacher had assigned him ahead of schedule, Sasuke spent fifteen minutes lying on his bed, staring at the stark white of his ceiling, before going for a walk.

He absolutely didn't try to get to the same place as he had been before. And he absolutely hadn't thought about the encounter he had had a few days ago. Infact, the boy that had been lying in the leaves hadn't crossed his mind once. And when he did manage to stumble across the same clearing, he didn't feel any level of sadness at discovering the ground clear of bodies, alive or otherwise.

He only paused because he was out of breath.

Regardless, he looked just a little too eagerly for a casual passer-by, and for that reason he was furious with himself as he carried on down the path. It was stupid, but he had expected the boy to still be there, just like he had expected the trees to still be there. Even though it was absurd and irrational, two things Sasuke always made a point of avoiding being.

The day was cold with the sun completely hidden by grey clouds, the same colour as the stone that his school was made out of. Sasuke stayed warm within his coat, but made a mental note to buy a new scarf this year, and in this way, distracted himself from the disappointment that he felt. For some reason, he felt like he would have been happier if the boy had been there. Maybe he would have spoken to him. It was probably, Sasuke rationalised, just the isolation getting to him. He had never craved company, but seeing no one his age for the past week was probably taking its toll. Naturally he would be interested in having conversation. Never mind that he usually went out of his way to avoid such a thing.

Past the clearing, Sasuke followed a rough path surrounded by giant holly bushes and bare tree trunks, the leaves blanketed across the ground. His eyes were fixed on the ground in front of him, following his own footsteps, and he hardly noticed when the trees started to part and he reached the stone bridge. The bridge covered a canal that ran past the village, with banks that were usually populated by a single fisherman that wore an eternal green anorak and never seemed to catch anything. Another rumour at school was that he was part-fish, part-human and people were often dared to go and talk to him, with varying levels of success. The rumour had no basis whatsoever, Sasuke thought.

As he started on the short bridge he glanced up and noticed someone was standing on the bridge already, leaning over the side. He took a double-take. Not just someone. A familiar someone. He was wearing the same red jacket with jeans and leaning with his stomach pressed against the side of the bridge, holding something in his cupped hands. His head was lowered to whatever he was holding and his lips moved although Sasuke couldn't hear what he was saying over the wind.

I should say hi, Sasuke thought, then banished the thought. What kind of idea was that? Hi, I saw you sleeping in the woods the other day and mistook you for a corpse. You opened your eyes, saw me, and then went back to sleep. I'm glad you didn't get eaten by wolves or molested by the green anorak fisherman. Yeah, right.

No, the best thing would just be to just walk straight past, ignoring him. There was no purpose in starting a conversation. He could go back through the graveyard, then reread the maths problems to check for errors he was ninety percent sure weren't there.

Resolute, Sasuke kept walking, eyes fixed on the other side of the bridge.

"Hey, do you know anything about frogs?"

Sasuke glanced first at the boy from whom the words had come, and then around the bridge to see if there was someone else that the question was aimed at. Seeing no one, he had to conclude that the boy was talking to him, as improbable as it seemed. Sasuke checked his expression to see if it was a joke, but the boy seemed serious, even if he was smiling slightly, as though he and Sasuke were friends.

"Pardon?" Sasuke resorted to assuming he had heard incorrectly.

"Do you know anything about frogs," the boy repeated. So his hearing was fine.

"No," Sasuke answered after a second. Frogs were a subject he couldn't say he had much expertise in.

"Oh," said the boy. "That's a pity." With an uncertain nod, Sasuke was about to start walking again. "Do you know anything about this canal, then?"

"It's a canal," Sasuke said helpfully. "It runs past this village."

Instead of mocking his utterly useless comments, the boy nodded. "Do you know if it runs into a lake or a pond or something?"

"It might," Sasuke said with a shrug. "I wouldn't know."

"It's just that I'm worried about Trevor," the boy continued, biting at his lip. His cheeks were flushed pink from the wind, and Sasuke wondered if his own complexion was in a similar state.

"Who?" Sasuke said, although it could have been 'What?' or maybe 'Huh?'

"Trevor," the boy repeated. "He's my frog." Now that he was closer, Sasuke could see that there was a large jar at the boy's feet, the frog presumably was what he was holding. "He needs to go into a pond, but I can't find one."

"You probably shouldn't put him in a canal," Sasuke said with a shrug. "There's a pond on the other side of the woods." The boy looked excited.

"Really? Is it far?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No. They aren't thick, it's straight through."

"Straight through?" The boy didn't look sure, eyeing the woods warily as though he hadn't been sleeping in them the previous day. "Could you show me?"

"I'm busy," Sasuke said. "And it's not far."

"But, I might get lost. And then I would die of hunger and sniffer dogs would find my body weeks later when I'd started to decay and worms had eaten my eyeballs!" The boy shook his head vigourously. "I don't want worms to eat my eyeballs."

That was a sentiment that Sasuke could relate to, he supposed. "Alright, fine. Don't walk slowly though, I have to get back soon."

"Thanks!" the boy crouched, slipping a green something, which upon closer inspection was a bewildered looking frog, into the jar and putting the lid on. He lifted the jar carefully to face level and grinned at it, his expression warped through the glass. "See Trevor, it's going to be fine!"

Sasuke snorted and turned, heading back to the edge of the bridge and towards the trees, not waiting for the boy to follow. As he reached the end of the bridge, he heard rapid footsteps behind him, before the boy appeared, a bright blob in his vision. He was looking at Sasuke expectantly. It was irritating. "Isn't that frog going to suffocate?"

"Nah, I made holes in the lid so he can breathe, I'm Naruto." What initially appeared to be code, seemed to be his name. "What's your name?"

"Sasuke," he said shortly.

"Nice to meet you Sasuke," the boy- Naruto -said cheerfully. "I really appreciate you doing this. Are you from the village? I thought only old people live in the village."

"I'm from the school," Sasuke said, slowing down so he wouldn't be out of breath for talking.

"Really? I though the school was closed for half-term," Naruto said, more to himself. "How come you're here?"

"I stay at school during the holidays," Sasuke answered. "We're here."

The pond was small, fringed by reeds and straggly marsh grass. The bank they were standing on was muddy before giving way to murky water. A few months ago it would have been teeming with wildlife; ducks, kingfishers and dragonflies. Now, as the weather grew colder, nature was going to sleep.

"Brilliant!" Naruto said, holding the jar at arms length. "See Trevor, your new home!" He took a few steps closer to the edge, ignoring the way the soles of his trainers became covered with mud and wet grass, and crouched down.

Looking around the pond and seeing no one, Sasuke took a step forward, reluctant to crouch down as Naruto cooed at the jar, unscrewing the lid. "Why do you have a frog?"

"I grew him from frogspawn!" Naruto said happily, tipping the jar so that Trevor, along with some leaves and soil that had been in the jar toppled into his hand. "That's why he's called 'Trevor,' get it? Trevor the Tadpole! But he needs to go back into the wild now and this is my last chance to do it because it''ll get cold soon and he needs to hibernate, don't you?" The last comment was aimed at the frog he had in his hands. It was a healthy dark green with beady black eyes that were swivelling around. "Do you want to hold him?"

"No," Sasuke said. As interesting as the frog admittedly looked, he didn't want to touch it. At all. "Put him down so we can go." He could technically go on his own, but he had a feeling Naruto would protest if he tried to leave.

"Oh, right," Naruto said. "Right." He looked down at the frog, a little sadly. "I feel like I should say something."

"Something?" Sasuke echoed.

"Mm. Like a farewell."

"It's a frog," Sasuke said.

"I know that," Naruto said, not getting offended in the least. "It's just he's been with me for a while now, and I think I'm going to miss him."

"A frog," Sasuke repeated. Naruto scowled at him.

"Hey, he's not just 'a frog,' you know. He's..." he floundered for words, settling finally, "special. He's been with me all summer."

"Why don't you just keep him over the winter then?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't think so," Naruto said, his mouth pulled down. "He needs to meet other frogs and have some frog friends. Maybe even meet a nice lady-frog, take her out to dinner, get married and take out a froggie-mortgage..."

"I see," said Sasuke. "In that case you should have sent him to frog-school so he could get a good education and support his lady-frog and tadpole children."

Naruto blinked at him once, then laughed out loud, eyes closed and shoulders shaking. He laughed for so long that Sasuke started to feel a little awkward. The only person that liked his sense of humour had been his brother. When Naruto finally calmed down, he actually used the hand that wasn't holding Trevor to swipe underneath his eyes.

"You're right, I'm a terrible guardian," Naruto said, chortling and holding Trevor up to his face. "Will you ever forgive me?" For a few long seconds, they both stared at the frog, as though expecting a response. "Oh, no, I think he's mentally scarred."

"Or perhaps option two: he's a frog and therefore unable to speak."

"He could at least ribbet his forgiveness or croak or something," Naruto said, looking quite upset. "Maybe he's angry with me."

"Yes, he looks furious," Sasuke agreed. "His eyes hold suppressed ire."

"Ire? Why are you talking like that?" Naruto asked, then continued, apparently not caring about the answer. "I think he'll forgive me one day. Afterall, lady-frogs are more interested in their husbands bringing home the flies, than having a pension plan."

"That's great. Please dump him now."

With a sigh, Naruto lowered his hands to the ground, then paused. "Good luck, Trevor. I hope you eat lots of flies and I'm sorry about that time I gave you crisps and you were sick."

While Sasuke raised his eyebrows, Naruto opened his hands and Trevor jumped down with a little trepidation.

The frog seemed unsure of his sudden freedom and made a few little hops, examining the ground before finding it to his liking and leaping into the water. They watched as the bright body disappeared into the depths, leaving ripples that spread across the surface of the pond.

"I think he'll be okay," said Naruto, as though Sasuke had asked. "I raised him well."

"Let's go now," Sasuke said, starting to walk away and leaving Naruto with little choice to either follow, or be left behind. As before, after a few seconds Sasuke heard quick footsteps and saw Naruto walking beside him.

"Hey," said Naruto suddenly, squinting at Sasuke. "Don't I know you?"

"I doubt that," Sasuke said. 'Unless I repressed the memory, which I suppose is quite possible.'

"No, I'm sure I do!" Naruto frowned, looking at a tree covered by thick green moss in thought. "I know, I saw you the other day while I was napping!"

"Oh. I thought you were asleep," Sasuke said, realising.

"I was a little bit," Naruto admitted. "But I remember seeing you. It was kind of weird, now I think about it." He seemed thoughtful, rather than worried.

"It's not particularly common to take a nap in the middle of a forest anyway," Sasuke commented.

"So it _was_ you!" Naruto crowed happily, doing a little jump of victory. "I knew I couldn't forget that glare!" Sasuke stopped glaring. "And I was tired, and it was sunny and peaceful, so I took a nap! What's wrong with that?"

Sasuke couldn't see anything specifically wrong with that, but he was sure there _was_ something wrong with it. "Do you live in the village?" he asked, mainly to change the subject. He knew very well that Naruto didn't live in the village; Sasuke would have noticed him long before now.

"No, my uncle just enrolled me in the school," Naruto said. "I'm starting next week." Sasuke couldn't help feeling surprised. The school he attended was quite selective, requiring students to pass a test, not to mention it wasn't cheap.

"I thought they only accepted new students at the start of term," Sasuke said.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, but my uncle has some contacts and I did well on the tests, even though I left halfway through."

"You left?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"It was sunny outside," Naruto said by way of explanation. "I snuck out again today, I was supposed to be getting to know the grounds, but I had to let Trevor out."

"Hm."

"You go to the school too, don't you? I'm really happy I met you," Naruto said, an honest smile spreading across his face. "I was sort of nervous about not knowing anyone, and now I know you so we can be friends." He paused, looking worried, "but you probably already have a lot of friends, don't you?"

Sasuke shrugged. He had a grand total of one friend, and that was the librarian who liked him because he sat quietly and never mistreated the books. He got a smile from her everytime he entered the library, but they weren't really at the passing notes in class and sharing packs of crisps stage. Crisps weren't allowed in the library anyway. "Not a lot."

"Really?" Naruto seemed shocked by this. Sasuke wasn't too sure why, it was surely painfully clear that he was no social butterfly. Naruto seemed torn between feeling happy that Sasuke would have room for him in his vast circle of friends and pity that Sasuke didn't have that many friends. If Naruto had voiced his thoughts, Sasuke would have told him to forget the pity; he had no need for dozens of friends to bother him all day long.

"Really."

"Okay then!" Naruto said chirpily, a slight spring in his step. "I hope we have lots of classes together!" They crossed the bridge, listening to the gentle slosh of water against the sides, and Naruto waved at a passing barge. "Is the school nice?"

"It's alright," Sasuke said. "It's school."

"I've never been to a boarding school before. I used to be home-schooled," Naruto said, looking a little worried again. "Plus when I was younger I used to get in fights a lot."  
Sasuke snorted a little at that. he couldn't see who would want to fight with Naruto, unless he just annoyed them too much. "What?"

"Nothing," Sasuke said. "I wouldn't worry about fighting. Nothing serious ever happens here."

"Okay good. My uncle says I have to control my temper better," Naruto confessed, scratching his ear. "I have a bit of a temper." Sasuke couldn't imagine that either, with the near-constant smile on Naruto's face. "Really I do."

"Okay, " Sasuke said. Naruto harrumphed and crossed his arms over his chest in a faux-sulk, stomping ahead of Sasuke who ignored him.

They passed along the outskirts of the village, subconciously heading for the school, and before long the grey stone building loomed ahead of them, set on a slight hill as if it was overlooking the village.

Naruto gave a little sigh, having stopped sulking long ago. "It looks sort of... scary. Is it haunted, do you think?"

"I doubt it," Sasuke said. "In my experience, the dead tend to stay that way."

Naruto looked at him oddly. "I've seen you before."

"I know, in the forest," Sasuke said, confused. Naruto shook his head.

"No, before that. I saw you in the graveyard, but you didn't see me." Sasuke nodded. That made sense, he didn't notice much when he was talking to his parents. He looked at Naruto expectantly, waiting for the usual questions, but was surprised to see Naruto looking at something up ahead. "Uh-oh."

"What?" Sasuke asked, following his gaze. He was surprised to see the school headteacher standing next to a man with lots of white shaggy hair, outside the visitors entrance to the school.

"I'd better go," Naruto said apologetically. "It was nice meeting you, maybe I'll see you?" He gave Sasuke a bright smile before jogging towards the two waiting for him as Sasuke headed towards the entrance to the dormitories.

Back in his room, he considered looking over those maths problems but decided there was no real point. Instead he went to the library, in the hopes of doing some research on frogs.

* * *

Term restarted and Sasuke's life fell back into a routine. The strict timetable suited him perfectly and made him feel purposeful. He was in upper sixth, and as such was extremely busy. Classes ran from nine until four, with an hour long lunch break. There was another hour long break at five followed by dinner, and then prep until nine. Lights out was at eleven for lower school, but for sixthformers who had individual rooms instead of shared dorms, there was no set time.

It was in the first week back that Sasuke saw Naruto again. He had just locked his door and was about to head to the canteen for breakfast, considering stopping by the library to reserve a textbook, when he walked into a mobile stack of cardboard boxes, causing it to fall to the ground. The three boxes landed on the floor, luckily none of them opened, and revealed that instead of cardboard boxes moving of their own accord, they were Naruto carrying three boxes, and now sitting on the floor, looking at the boxes in surprise.

"Watch where you're going, idiot," Sasuke said, bending down to pick up one of the boxes anyway.

"The boxes were in the way," Naruto said. "Hey, it's you! Sasuke!"

Sasuke winced slightly, feeling the volume was inappropriate for eight in the morning and replying with a lame: "Hey."

Naruto grabbed the other two boxes and heaped them on top of each other so that his head poked over the top, giving him an odd, robotic look. While Sasuke was dressed in his uniform, navy and white, Naruto was wearing red corduroy trousers and an orange t-shirt that clashed. He looked at Sasuke expectantly. "What?"

"Nothing!" Naruto chirped with a broad smile. "I'm moving in today! Is this your floor?"

Sasuke nodded, watching as Naruto's smile defied expectations to become bigger. "Cool! I'm in room four."

"I'm in twelve," Sasuke said, watching as Naruto took a few more steps to his room and then dumped the boxes, checking his pockets until he found the key he was looking for. It was attached to a froggy keyring, Sasuke noticed.

"Cool," Naruto said again. "So we ca-" He was cut off by the noise of heavy footfall on the stairwell, and then the door was flung open to reveal four or five students looking wide-eyed.

"See! I told you it was true!" one of them said, jumping forward and pointing straight at Naruto, who looked alarmed. "He's a new student!"

"No way," someone said, pushing their way to the front, "are you sure?"

"Well you haven't seen him before, have you?"

"Yeah but-"

"He's not wearing the uniform, maybe he's visiting."

"On a school day at eight AM?"

"Look at the boxes! He's moving in!"

"I told you!"

Sasuke put down the box he was carrying and watched as the first student predictably moved forward, extending a hand to Naruto. Having a new student in the school was usually an exciting event, so it was no surprise that Naruto was attracting attention. And that was Sasuke's cue to leave. He was sure that Naruto would get on well with the excited students; he was friendly if a little odd. He'd fit in fine with these loud-mouths.

Without saying goodbye, Sasuke left, moving past the small crowd to get to the door. He heard Naruto introduce himself brightly, and fall into conversation as he slipped out into the stairwell. Naruto would be fine, and Sasuke would go and reserve that textbook.

* * *

Itachi always called on a Sunday evening.

"Where are you?" Sasuke asked, when the silence became too unbearably awkward. He could hang up, as he often used to, but recently the calls seemed like an endurance contest. Who could outlast the other.

"Frankfurt," Itachi said.

"Staying long?" Sasuke worked hard to try and inject curiosity into his voice, to make it seem like he was utterly unaffected by the conversation. He wasn't completely satisfied with his result.

"Just two more nights."

"Have fun." He managed not to overkill the sarcasm, but trying to sound sincere was too much.

There was a silence, in which Sasuke absently tapped his pen against his exercise book and resisted the urge to slam the phone down. It was late and he was studying in his dorm room, his work illuminated by his desk lamp."Do you need any more money?"

"No."

"Good." Money to spend on what? There were only about ten shops in the village. Perhaps Itachi was aware that the only shop in the village that garnered much interest from the students was the off-license, and Sasuke didn't enjoy the taste of cheap cider. Or maybe he was just trying to outlast Sasuke.

It worked.

"I have homework, I've got to go. Bye."

* * *

Two weeks after the start of term, while the other boys used their hard-earned weekend to play video games in the common room, get drunk in their dorms or smoke weed behind the bike sheds, Sasuke visited the graveyard.

His parents weren't talkative, and it was only the cold sense of duty and a feeling that he was somehow disgracing Itachi by doing what he didn't, that made Sasuke return week after week. He missed his parents, definitely, but he had the feeling that staring at a gravestone for an hour every weekend wasn't helping anyone.

Still, the idea of his parents never having any visitors made his chest squeeze, and so once again he found himself tracing his eyes over the etched-in letters.

Sasuke knew people that spoke to tombstones. Some solemnly, some as though they were just chatting to a friend. Sasuke kept silent most of the time.

It was cold and Sasuke suspected his nose and ears were flushing slightly as he walked back to school. He chose to go through the village. In the summer, tourists boosted the population slightly, but for now the streets were empty save for a few residents walking their dogs and a couple of year sevens hanging around the shops holding paper bags full of pic 'n' mix.

Although there were clouds, the ground was dry so Sasuke cut across the playing fields that were at the far end of the school and closer to the dorms. There were a group of boys playing football, their presence accompanied by shouts and calls that were quickly swept away by the wind. Sasuke ignored them, his thoughts still in the graveyard. Should he take a cloth next time and clean off the moss that was starting to grow on the stone?

"Hey, hey, Sasuke!"

He glanced behind him, and then forward, wondering if he had just imagined someone calling his name, before his eyes settled on a figure jogging towards him. With a little surprise, Sasuke recognised the figure as Naruto. "Hi."

Naruto reached him and leaned over, grasping his knees as he panted, getting his breath back. He was wearing a striped green and black rugby shirt, along with black shorts and football boots. His cheeks were flushed, although from cold or running, Sasuke couldn't tell. After a few moments, Naruto straightened up. "Sasuke!"

"Yes," said Sasuke. "What?" Now that he'd stopped he was starting to feel a little cold. Someone shouted something and Naruto turned a little to shout back.

"What's up?" asked Naruto, when he turned back. Sasuke frowned slightly, digging his hands into his pockets.

"Nothing. I'm going back to my room."

"Cool, I'll come with you," Naruto said, leaving Sasuke little choice but to start walking.

"Aren't you playing?"

"Nah, I'm done. It's freezing out here." Sasuke made a noise that might have been agreement, or maybe amusement. "I haven't seen you at all since we started back! Where've you been?"

"I'm taking four A-levels, so I don't have much free time," Sasuke said, adjusting his scarf slightly.

"Wow, four? Which ones?"

"Chemistry, Physics, Maths and Further Maths," Sasuke reeled off as they passed the last field and onto the path going up to the dorms. Naruto's football boots clicked as the spurs made contact with the concrete.

"Really? But I do Maths, how come I never see you?" Naruto asked. "I thought there was only one class."

"There is," Sasuke said shortly. "Since I do Further, I don't attend any of the Maths classes."

"Ha! That's so cool! My guardian wanted me to do Further too, I did it last year, but I wasn't sure. Is it hard?"

"It's alright," Sasuke said.

"Maybe I'll switch, Maths is way too easy. I get bored, and then I get yelled at for messing around." They stood to the side as the door to the dormitories opened and a few students spilled out, before going forward. "Hey, wait a second."

Sasuke stepped inside and watched as Naruto sat down on the step inside, unlacing his football boots which were caked with dry mud, and shaking them slightly. While Naruto was focussed on his task, Sasuke felt out of place, so settled for a simple question. "What subjects do you do?"

The smile Naruto gave him made Sasuke wonder if instigating conversation had been the right thing to do. "I do Maths, History, and Music," Naruto said proudly, laughing at the surprised look on Sasuke's face. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Haven't really decided on what I want to do."

"Don't you need to do your university application?" Sasuke waited while Naruto stood up, boots swinging from his hand, footsteps muffled by his thick black socks.

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, I'm gonna take a gap year. And if I still don't know, then I might go to the US and do one of those major undecided degrees. I think it's annoying that they make us decide so soon. What are you applying for?"

"Mechanical engineering," Sasuke said, letting Naruto follow him up the stairs.

"Wow, sounds... complicated," Naruto said.

Sasuke shrugged. "I haven't done it yet. I'll send off my application soon."

"Fast," Naruto remarked, swinging his boots more, ignorant to the little flecks of mud that remained, and flaked off on the pockmarked linoleum. "Where are you applying?"

"A couple of places," Sasuke said, not wanting to continue this line of questioning. All his teachers, as well as any relatives that contacted him, wanted to know what he was studying, what he intended to do at university, and where he was applying. He didn't need it from Naruto as well. "Why are you taking a gap year?"

"I want to travel, I've got lots of world to see," Naruto said, half serious, but with a smile teasing his mouth. "I can't get over how huge the world is, and how much is packed in. Then I get jealous of the people that'll live in a billion years and go on trips to space and zoom by Pluto on the weekend."

"In a billion years, the sun will probably have burnt out, and all life will be extinguished," Sasuke said.

Naruto blinked at him.

"Well. Yeah. I guess. I didn't mean literally."

"Oh."

"Annnnyway," Naruto continued, giving Sasuke an odd look as they reached the third floor and swung the door open, "I was wondering, remember that time I saw you-"

"In the woods," Sasuke finished.

"In the graveyard," Naruto corrected as they stopped outside his room and he fished his key from his pocket. Sasuke tensed, wondering if there was time to quickly exit and opening his mouth to start an excuse. Instead, as he looked at Naruto he was suddenly struck by the fact that Naruto was his age. He had seemed a lot younger, before, but now, with lowered brows and a thoughtful expression he seemed maybe even older than Sasuke.

"What?" said Sasuke, instead of his clever 'I have to go quickly and before you finish your sentence' excuse.

"Well why would you be in the village graveyard?" Naruto asked, "I mean, why would anyone you know be buried here?" Seeing Sasuke's expression, he hastily added: "It's okay if you don't want to say, I was just curious."

"No it's fine," Sasuke said. _I just didn't expect that._ "My family originally came from this village. They eventually moved to the next town over, but the family burial plot is here."

"Ohhhh," Naruto said, tilting his head slightly and scrunching up his face in thought. Now, Sasuke thought, he looked like he was about eight. "I get it. Well..." Sasuke waited for the inevitable questions. "I better go now!"

"What?"

Naruto pushed his door open and laughed a little, scratching the back of his neck. "Ehehe, well, I've been playing out for a couple of hours now. I kinda could do with a shower. And then it's dinner, and I hear a rumour that there's going to be cake."

"Of course they'll be cake, they serve cake every Saturday," Sasuke said, nonplussed as Naruto's eyes lit up.

"Sweet! I'd better hurry, I don't want it to all be gone!"

"Why would it be gone? They have enough for one serving each." Sasuke words were falling on deaf ears, as with a blinding grin so big that Naruto's eyes nearly closed, he waved goodbye to Sasuke and shut the door.

Sasuke waited for a whole minute before he left.

* * *

The following Monday after his Further Maths class, Sasuke's teacher approached him. The other students carried on packing their things away and chattering.

"You did well on the practice paper, Uchiha," his teacher said grudgingly as Sasuke slipped some paper into his folder.

"Thank you, sir." Sasuke opened his bag on the desk and put his books inside, zipping it closed.

His teacher watched him with a calculating gaze. "You don't play any sports, do you, Uchiha?"

"No, sir." He used to play tennis with Itachi, but his older brother always, always beat him. (And if Sasuke had once cherished the idea of playing doubles as a team, it had evaporated long ago.)

"So your personal statement could probably do with a bit of beefing up?" His teacher seemed to be more talking to himself, than to Sasuke.

"I suppose." Sasuke dropped the 'sir.' It was getting tiresome.

"Then I have the perfect suggestion!" His teacher looked far too pleased with himself, as though Sasuke had come begging a favour and he was able to grant it. "I have a student that needs tutoring, and I think you're the right person to help him out."

"But-"

"No no, there's no need to thank me. I'm just trying to help any way I can." Sasuke stared as his teacher gave him a jaunty wave and then left the room.

And that's how Sasuke ended up tutoring Naruto for Further Maths.

* * *

Seven thirty seven on Tuesday afternoon and Naruto was late.

"Aren't you supposed to be in prep, Sasuke dear?" asked the librarian, peering kindly over her glasses at him. Sasuke had no idea why she wore such old fashioned glasses, when she couldn't be older than twenty five.

"My teacher said I could come here," Sasuke said, showing her a slip of paper signed by his tutor. "I'm supposed to be tutoring someone."

"That's so kind of you." She gave him a warm smile, tilting her head slighty to the side so that the hair escaping her messy bun fell forward. Miss Haruno was by far the youngest, and prettiest, member of staff at Sasuke's school. Her heart-shaped face, contemplative eyes, and tendency to wear pencil skirts with heels had made her the object of more than one pubescent fantasy. Fortunately, Sasuke's crush on her had hit early, and he was now almost immune. Except when she tilted her head like that...

"Sasuke?"

"Pardon?" Sasuke blamed his distracted nature on hormones. He was eighteen years old and the librarian was the most feminine thing in the entire school. The next most feminine things being the pictures in the various porn magazines hidden under mattresses.

Whatever Miss Haruno had said was lost to the air currents as Naruto arrived, slamming through the doors and running straight up to where Sasuke was sitting, waiting for him. "Sasuke! There you are-

"Naruto, please keep your voice down in the library!" the librarian scolded, eyebrows pulled together. "People need to concentrate."

"Yes Miss Haruno," Naruto said sheepishly. "Sorry Miss Haruno." He grinned at her, and then at Sasuke.

"You should apologise to your classmate." She pushed her glasses up her nose, a smile playing on her lips despite her stern tone.

"Will do!" Naruto saluted her before turning to Sasuke. "I'm sorry for being late!" He turned back to the librarian. "How was that? Sincere? I tried to put a lot of emotion behind it."

The smile broke free and Miss Haruno shook her head at his antics. "Yes okay, well study hard!" With a little wave, and a smile at Sasuke, she left.

Naruto let out a sigh and collapsed on the desk. "Phew, she's _gorgeous_." His shirt was untucked and he shrugged out of his blazer, rolling up his sleeves a little. "That _smile_ and those legs and hell, she's completely got that sexy librarian thing going on." He lent back in his chair, tipping his head up and smiling slightly, then glanced at Sasuke. "What do you think?"

"I think that I'm not skipping prep so that you can drool over Miss Haruno in pencil skirts," Sasuke said, frowning. He opened their textbook on the first page, with a view to getting started.

"Oh oh, you mean the ones that go out at the hips and then in?" Naruto made a noise of appreciation. "I swear, Miss Haruno in those things is better than _porn_. Right?"

Sasuke blinked. "Can we start studying now? I'm supposed to get you ready to join our class by the end of the week, and you've missed over two weeks of class."

"Huh?" Naruto looked around him, eyes widening suddenly. "Oh right! Shit, sorry. I just- those skirts are really distracting." He grinned at Sasuke, looking a little nervous. "Seriously, sorry. I'm really, really, reaaaaaaaaaally, grateful that you're helping me out. I tried to catch up on my own, but your textbook is all weird." He paused. "You're not angry, are you?"

"Let's just start, okay?" Sasuke suggested.

"You _are_ angry!" Naruto said, earning the pair of them a glare from the librarian. He carried on in an extremely loud whisper. "I said I'm sorry! I'll make it up to you, what do you want? I could give you my dessert tomorrow, and I heard there's going to be cake- you know it's really not my fault, I was going to be here on time, if Mr Hatake hadn't called me to-"

"Naruto."

"-and he's got to be making that up because there's no way it's true, I don't think those things are even _legal_ and he's a teacher so that makes it a million times worse and I could go to the head about it but I don't want-"

"Naruto!"

"-and it's only been two weeks so I'm not that confident yet and there's a lot going on to take in so I don't want to be doing anything hasty-"

"_Naruto!_" Sasuke practically shouted, finally managing to get the boy to shut up.

"Sasuke, you need to keep your voice down, this is a library," Naruto said seriously.

Sasuke's forehead hit the desk with a 'thunk'. "Idiot." The word was muffled.

"Sasuke? Sasuke are you okay?" Naruto leaned close to whisper into Sasuke's ear. "Should I call Miss Haruno?"

"Please just do the questions in the first section," Sasuke said, not raising his head.

"O-kay..." There was some shuffling and then the flicking of pages. Naruto paused. "Are you sure you're okay? I can't do these questions unless I know you're okay."

Feeling as though the tutoring was going to be a lot more trouble than it was worth, Sasuke raised his head. "I'm fine. Start the questions."

Naruto looked at him carefully, then scowled, flipping the book open. "Wouldn't kill you to say 'please'."

Sasuke's head made enthusiastic re-acquaintance with the desk.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Sasuke had finished working on his own homework, when Naruto's behaviour caught his attention.

By leaning back in his chair so it was resting on its two back legs, and tilting his head up, Naruto had managed to balance his ruler between his nose and chin. One hand was braced against the table, while the other hung restlessly near the ruler, ready to catch it.

"What are you doing?"

With a yelp, Naruto's concentration was broken, the ruler fell into his waiting hand and he jerked forward. "Damnit!" He glanced at Sasuke. "What?"

Sasuke thought for a moment, before deciding upon the direct approach. "Why are you doing that?"

"Doing what?" Naruto asked, seeming genuinely curious.

"Leaning back, balancing the ruler."

"Oh. I was bored."

Sasuke took a deep breath. "If you were bored, shouldn't you have been doing the questions I asked you to?"

Blinking, as though Sasuke was speaking in a different language, to him, Naruto shook his head. "I already did them!"

Sasuke looked at him blankly. "Then why didn't you tell me you were finished?"

"I thought you were busy," Naruto explained. Sasuke wasn't sure if he was acting dumb or perhaps had some sort of stupidity disease that selectively became apparent.

"I'm supposed to be tutoring you," Sasuke explained slowly, partly because he wanted Naruto to understand, and partly because he was trying to calm his urge to throttle. "I'm just occupying myself while you work. You have to tell me when you're done.

"Oh." A pause. "Well, I'm done!"

"...Right. Pass your work over then." Naruto complied with a smile, sliding the sheets of paper he had been writing on.

Sasuke stared at the sheets. Naruto's handwriting was hardly tidy, but he could read it. He had done four questions, and a quick check in the back of the book showed that they were correct. But... "Where is your working out?"

Naruto looked at him blankly. "What working out?"

"The working out you had to do to get this answer," Sasuke said, looking at him with narrowed eyes. "Please tell me you didn't do something stupid like copy the answers from the back of the book?"

At this, Naruto looked affronted. "No way! Of course I didn't! You're being awesome and tutoring me, what would be the point if I just copied the answer?"

That made sense. "Then where is your working?"

"What does it matter where my working is?" Naruto frowned. "I got the right answer, didn't I?"

"Well yes, but-"

"So?"

Sighing, Sasuke glanced at the answers again. "You're telling me that you don't need to write out the working? You just get the answer like that?"

"Of course!" Naruto seemed surprised. "Doesn't everyone?"

Instead of answering, Sasuke selected another problem and pushed the sheets of paper back. "Do this one, I'll watch."

Shrugging, Naruto grabbed his pen and pulled the book close. He gnawed the end of the pen, making Sasuke scrunch his nose in distaste. After about a minute of idly contemplating the question he jotted down a number and then beamed at Sasuke. "Done!"

"That's...almost correct," Sasuke said, with more than a little surprise. "Did you work it all out in your head?"

"Well...yeah," Naruto seemed surprised at Sasuke's confusion. "Wouldn't you? Wait, why's it wrong?"

"You're out by a decimal point." Sasuke considered for a moment. "I suppose the reason you're having problems is that you try to do it all in your head, and make mistakes. You need to learn to write it out. In exams, if you get the method right, but the answer wrong, you'll still get marks."

"But I hate writing it all out, it's so boring. 'Sides, I've passed exams before," Naruto whined, puffing out his cheeks.

"A Level problems have far more steps, so you're more likely to get things wrong if you try to keep it all in your head," Sasuke said. Naruto sighed and nodded. "Good. Try this one again."

They worked for another hour, in which Naruto managed to get three problems wrong and two right, but Sasuke was confident that by the end of the session, they were making progress.

They packed their things away, waved to Miss Haruno who glanced up from the book she was reading to smile at them, and then trudged out of the brightly lit library.

Prep time had finished, with most students returning to their dorms, or to the common room to make the most of their free time, so the corridors were quiet. Naruto was humming, but he stopped when they reached the dormitory building.

"Don't you ever get lost?" Naruto asked abruptly. "It's such a big school."

Sasuke shrugged, a little off balance at the question. "I've been here a while. You get used to it."

Naruto shook his head, a little smile twisted around his mouth. "I don't think I will. There's so many people."

Sasuke looked at him strangely. "You seem to be fitting in fine. You've got lots of friends, from what I can see. You're always laughing."

At that, Naruto looked a little surprised, then looked down again, adjusting his bag as they walked up the stairs. "Nah. I mean, yeah, the guys are cool, but I feel like I don't quite fit in. I just try and go along with it."

Sasuke frowned, pushing the door open to their floor and letting Naruto pass him. "You really feel like that?"

"I dunno. Maybe. Sometimes. There's just so much..." Naruto snorted and grinned, his depressed aura suddenly gone. "It'll pass, I'm sure. Just takes a while to get used to."

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed, not looking at him.

"I'll see you tomorrow then, Further Maths is first thing, right?"

"Right."

The next day in Further Maths, Naruto took the empty seat next to Sasuke.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** This story is forty percent my beta, twenty percent me, and forty percent anything I have ever read. I take no credit.

**AN: **This fic is my pet project. Chapters will vary in size and content, depending on what happens that month. Please enjoy, and remember, concrit is the highest form of appreciation.

**AN2: **Just want to make it clear,** this story will have a romantic relationship between Naruto and Sasuke**. It may not seem that way, at points, but I assure you eventually it will.

**AN3: **If you give a criticism on the story, or ask a question, it's great if you can sign in! I really wont be angry or anything, but I like to address any issues with the story or my writing, and I can't do that if you don't sign in.


	2. November

**Seldom Woods**

_November_

The fifth of November was the most exciting day of the school year. On that day, a travelling funfair set up in the school grounds, prep was canceled for the day, and at eight o'clock, there was a fireworks display.

It was a highly anticipated event, and most teachers gave up trying to teach the over-excited students in the afternoon, simply letting them talk amongst themselves. The older students feigned disinterest, but couldn't stop themselves from checking the clock periodically, despite their claims.

Out of all the festivals of the year, Sasuke preferred Bonfire night. The history was of no interest to him, neither were the rides and sweets that most students indulged in, but he did harbour a secret fondness for bonfires. As a child, long before he attended the boarding school, his mother would bundle him up with a thick winter coat, mittens and a woollen hat that she would pull far too low, and take him to see the display. She would hold his little hand in hers and guide him through the sea of people that seemed so much bigger than him until they found a spot to watch and then at the end of the fireworks she would give him a sparkler and wrap her hand around his, guiding him to draw big circles in the air that would leave a blazing imprint on the back of his eyelids.

So yearly, Sasuke would venture out on Bonfire night, ignoring the rides and stalls, and find a quiet place to watch the fireworks. It didn't make him happy, but it lessened the ache in his chest just a little.

Sasuke didn't have Further Maths that morning, but while he sat in the canteen, trying to drown out the babble of voices and scraping of chairs with his mp3 player, Naruto found him.

It was a Thursday, and since the event had been announced in assembly on Monday morning, as was customary, Naruto hadn't stopped talking about it.

"Did I tell you that I've never seen a proper fireworks display before?" Naruto said instead of greeting, sitting sideways in the chair next to Sasuke, with one arm slung over the back of the chair. Someone called to him and he waved back.

"You did," Sasuke said monotonously, pulling his earphones out despite his feigned disinterest.

"My guardian never took me out, he said I could watch them just as well from my window without freezing- but it's not the same thing at all." He shook his head vehemently, making his already wild hair fly from side to side. "I'm so psyched about this one!"

"Mm," Sasuke made a sound of agreement, neatly twisting up a few strands of spagetti.

"So..." Naruto watched Sasuke eat the spaghetti, managing not to spill a drop of sauce or resort to slurping. "What time are you going down?"

Finishing his mouthful, Sasuke took a small sip of water and then shrugged. "I don't know. When I feel like it."

"Oh, right." Naruto frowned a little, then nodded in enthusiastic agreement. "Yeah of course, me too. Just- you know -whenever. It's not a big deal or anything..." He glanced at Sasuke. "A group of us are going down together, just to check it out. If you wanted to- unless you're already going with other people- you could come too."

Surprised, even though he shouldn't have been, Sasuke blinked, sizing up the offer. "I'm not sure what time I'll be going," he said slowly. "I only watch the fireworks, I don't go on the rides."

"Oh, cool," Naruto said. "Well then...I'll see you there?"

Absently, Sasuke nodded, watching the rain falling outside the window. "Yeah."

* * *

Dinner was moved up to five o'clock and was an even noisier affair than usual. Hyper-active year sevens managed to spill twice the usual amount of food, which received many jeers and applause from the rest of the student body. The younger students bolted through their suppers, eager to leave and go into the grounds. Rumours about what had and hadn't been seen setting up during the afternoon flew about, what rides there were could be were suggested, and several boys boasted of knowing the _best_ place to view the fireworks.

As soon as dinner was over, despite the attempts of staff to control it, there was a miniature stampede to the doors, and several shouts in the resulting scrimmage.

Sasuke finished his dinner quietly, pretended he couldn't see Naruto waving at him, and left once the exit was clear.

It was seven thirty when Sasuke left his room. He had done some homework, despite prep being canceled, and read a book for a while, enjoying the quiet. With all the students out in the grounds, enjoying the funfair, the dorms were nearly silent.

Wearing his winter coat, he left the accommodation building and walked towards the brightly lit funfair, set up across the playing fields. The rain earlier that day had stopped, but combined with the many feet that had traipsed across the field in a short space of time, the ground was reduced to slippery mud.

The funfair itself, although rather alluring with its lights bright against the dark sky, and the mass of people milling around it, shrieking on rides and shouting for no reason, wasn't his aim. Instead, Sasuke wanted to go around it to the slightly higher ground at the back of the playing fields, where he reasoned he would have an uninterrupted view. He was concentrating so hard on not falling or getting more mud than necessary on his already coated trainers that he didn't notice the presence of another person.

"Sasuke?"

Standing a few feet away from him, in red wellington boots and a tartan skirt under her short coat was Miss Haruno. She smiled as she recognised Sasuke. "It is you. I didn't realise you would come to the funfair. It doesn't seem like your sort of thing." Her cheeks were flushed, but perhaps that was the glare from the neon lights. Around her neck was a crème scarf with pom poms on the end.

"I came to watch the fireworks," Sasuke said awkwardly. "Are you supervising, Miss Haruno?"

"Oh heavens no," she said with a little laugh. "I'm just enjoying myself. It's a nice night, isn't it?" It was cold and damp, but strangely when she said it like that, Sasuke agreed for a minute.

"Are you not going to meet up with any friends, Sasuke?" Sakura asked, tilting her head at him. On her head she had a hat that matched her scarf, from beneath which little bits of pink hair that seemed red in the darkness peeked out.

"No," Sasuke said, shoving his hands into his pockets in an attempt to warm them up. Somehow, he'd forgotten his gloves in his room. "I prefer to stay on my own." It came out a little different to how he had expected it. As though he'd made an admittance he hadn't expected to.

"Careful," Miss Haruno said, her mouth curling at the edges. "Staying on your own can lead to a lonely life."

Sasuke very much wanted to ask her if she was lonely, living at the boarding school with no friends except her books and the occasional chatty student or teacher. Perhaps she had a boyfriend, or a husband; but her ring finger was bare.

He opened his mouth, perhaps to voice one of the questions, or perhaps to say something else, something empty and vapid that would fill the sharp night air between them, but was interrupted.

"Sasuke!"

And just like that, the moment was broken. Sasuke blinked, feeling oddly over exposed. "Naruto."

"Ehehe, there you are! You're so late!" Naruto was wearing his red coat and his cheeks were flushed, his breath coming out in short puffs of steam. "This place is the coolest!" In his hand was a stick of candy floss that he was waving. "Hey Miss Haruno, do you want some candyfloss?"

"No thank you, Naruto," Miss Haruno raised a mitten clad hand and waved at them. "I should be getting back. There's a novel on my bedside that's calling to me."

"Do you want us to walk you back to the school?" Naruto asked seriously. Miss Haruno hid her smile behind her hand.

"No no, I think I'll be fine." Naruto looked a little disappointed, so she hastily added: "But it was very chivalrous of you to offer." He beamed.

"Of course! I'm a gentleman," Naruto boasted. Sasuke was mildly impressed that Naruto knew what 'chivalrous' meant.

Scooting a little closer, Naruto stood next to Sasuke as they watched the librarian walk back to the brightly lit entrance of the school, stepping carefully to avoid slipping in the mud.

"Whoa," said Naruto once she was out of earshot. "Tartan skirts like that should be _illegal_." He popped a piece of candy floss in his mouth and leaned the stick towards Sasuke. "You want?"

"No thanks," Sasuke said. "I thought you liked pencil skirts."

Naruto flapped his hands, making the candy floss bob alarmingly, but he didn't seem to notice. "Say no more to me about pencil skirts. I am a converted man." He glanced at Sasuke abruptly, all childish excitement and puppy-dog beseeching. "Sasuke, I'm out of money, but I _really_ want a toffee apple."

Somehow, Sasuke found that they were walking towards the funfair, instead of skirting around it. "You already have candy floss."

"Yeah, but I've never had a toffee apple before and I think I'd like one," Naruto said with a nod. They approached the start of the fair. Close it up it was so bright it made Sasuke squint, and so loud that Naruto had to shout in his ear to be heard. Students were standing in clumps, some in queues for a few rides. To the side, a group of students shrieked as the ride they were on turned them upside down, a few of the more daring put their hands in the air while others clutched the metal bar like a lifeline. "I went on that one, it was _awesome_. I had my eyes open the whole time."

Sasuke made a noise of acknowledgment, trying to tread carefully. Here, the ground was even more muddy, seemingly moving with every step he took. Irritatingly, Naruto was completely steady, and inexplicably wearing wellington boots that shone orange in the fairground lights. "Who brings wellingtons to boarding school?" Sasuke asked out loud.

Shrugging, Naruto grinned. "They came in handy didn't they?" Sasuke was about to answer when a group of students shoved past him and he nearly slipped, might have fallen if Naruto hadn't shot out a hand and grabbed his forearm. "Whoa, careful."

He waited patiently while Sasuke got his balance back, and then moved his grip down until his hand was clasping Sasuke's. "What-"

"Don't want you to fall," Naruto muttered, distracted. "Come _on_, I don't want them to run out before I get there." He gave a tug and Sasuke was forced to fall or follow, and he picked the lesser evil. "Have you ever had a toffee apple before? Hey, do you want the last of the candy floss?"

"No, and no," Sasuke answered, having to lean close to do so as they maneuvered through the ever thickening crowd. Around them, people were laughing and talking. Nearby, the group on a ride screamed as the motion of it glued them to the walls even while they were spun around and around. "I don't like sweets."

"Really? That's crazy," Naruto said around the final fluff of candy floss. "Oh well, your loss." He wore woolen gloves and the material was a little coarse, but quickly warmed Sasuke's hand which had started to numb. "Look, there's the stall!" They joined the queue and Naruto started counting his money, releasing Sasuke's hand. Instead of a wallet, he had a little coin purse in the shape of a frog. "Sasukeeeeee."

"What?" Sasuke glanced back at Naruto.

"I don't have enouuugh, lend me a pound?" Naruto looked like he might burst into tears if Sasuke refused.

"Fine," Sasuke said shortly, fishing one out of the loose change tumbling about in his coat pocket and handing it to him. Naruto grinned.

"Thanks! Don't you want anything?"

"Is your memory really that bad?" Sasuke asked, eyeing the stall. Two harried looking women wearing pinstripe aprons and comical hats were serving.

"Huh?" Naruto's eyes were slightly glazed over from looking at all the sugar, but he snapped to attention.

"I just said I didn't like sweets."

"Oh, right, sorry!" He didn't sound sorry at all. Sasuke looked forward as they neared the front of the queue. Hanging from the front of the stall were cones of flying saucers and jelly snakes, sticks covered in twisted marshmallow and bags of candy floss, pegged to a string. Sasuke caught Naruto eyeing a large multicoloured lollypop as the people in front of them paid and left.

"What can I get you?" one of the women asked while the other added more sugar to the candy floss machine.

Naruto placed his order and paid, eagerly receiving the toffee apple on a stick, the apple covered in cellophane and tied with a small ribbon. "Just a second," Sasuke said as he turned to leave. He grabbed one of the lollypops, a smaller one than Naruto had seen and shoved a few coins on the counter. "Okay, let's go."

"I thought you didn't like sweets," Naruto asked as they moved away from the crowd.

"It's for you," Sasuke said gruffly, shoving the lollypop forward. Naruto's mouth made a little circle of surprise, before turning to delight.

"Thanks Sasuke!" He unwrapped the lollypop first and put it in his mouth, making his grin lopsided. The toffee apple he put in his pocket to save for later.

The fireworks started at eight, while they were still fighting through the crowd to get to higher ground, nearer the trees. In the end they didn't manage to reach where Sasuke had aimed to go, where he used to watch with his mother, because Naruto kept complaining that they were missing the show.

They grabbed a spot where there were a few less people and the ground was marginally firmer, although Sasuke had to keep moving every few seconds to stop himself sinking. Naruto was infuriatingly stable in his wellingtons.

The fireworks were more or less everything Sasuke had expected. Golden flowers blossomed and then withered, comets flew across the sky and shattered, each bang was louder than the last and silver dust fell earthwards and then winked out.

What was different, was Naruto. Every bang made him gasp, every new sparkle made him laugh and coo. He kept elbowing Sasuke and pointing things out, even though they were both watching the same display. When the display hit a pause near the end, Naruto 'aww'ed along with the rest of the crowd, only to cheer twice as loud when they started up again. His expressions were just as responsive. Every new firework made his face light up with surprise and delight, and at the end of the show, as the last shards of gold fell to ashes, he clapped along with everyone else.

As soon as the fireworks were over, people started to disperse. The students were in good spirits, which for the older ones Sasuke suspected had a lot to do with the plastic bottles of cider being passed around. Naruto was hyper, but that was normal. Sasuke wondered if he had been drinking.

It was only as they joined the mass heading back to the dorms that a thought struck Sasuke. "Didn't you say you were going to be a with a group tonight?"

Naruto had been halfway through a spiel about how fireworks worked (most of which was made up) but didn't seem to grudge Sasuke for the interruption. "Yeah, I was," he said cheerily.

"Then where did they go?"

"I left them when I saw you talking to Miss Haruno," Naruto explained. "I saw them a couple of times after, but you don't like being around loads of people, so I didn't want to regroup."

"Oh," said Sasuke. And then because he felt he ought to add something: "this will be the last year I'll see the display. I used to see it every year, but I'll be at uni next time."

"Oh yeah," Naruto said thoughtfully, looking skyward. Then he grinned at Sasuke. "You never know. Oh hey, I forgot-" He opened his jacket and pulled out two long sticks from an inside pocket. "Brilliant, they didn't snap. I got these from a stall earlier, you want one?"

"...Sparklers?" Sasuke said dumbly, finding himself holding one while Naruto looked for the lighter he swore he had.

"Yeah- got it! -have you used them before?" Naruto brandished the lighter and held it to the end of his sparkler, grinning when it caught and began spitting white sparks.

"Not for a long time," Sasuke said as Naruto joined the tip of his sparkler to Sasuke's, letting it catch alight.

"Well be careful, you're supposed to wear gloves, but I think you'll be okay." Naruto made nonsensical squiggles in the air for a second before looking at Sasuke who was holding his sparkler stationary. "You okay? Draw something!"

"Okay," said Sasuke. He drew a circle.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** This story is forty percent my beta, twenty percent me, and forty percent anything I have ever read. I take no credit.

**AN: **Bit of a short chapter. November was slow for the boys. After this chapters will get longer. Thanks for reading :).


	3. December

**Seldom Woods**

_December_

A rhythmic knocking at the door caused Sasuke to pause in the middle of the book he was reading. The clock read quarter to twelve, and he should have been asleep already, had the latest recommendation from Miss Haruno not proven to be impossible to put down. The knocking slowed down, then picked up tempo again.

Warily, Sasuke got off his bed, placing a bookmark in the book and leaving it regretfully, before answering the door.

"Do you have any PVA?" Naruto wanted to know. He was holding what looked like a clump of lollypop sticks and feathers in the hand that had not been knocking on the door. "I've run out."

Sasuke shut the door and returned to his book.

Five minutes of incessant banging was drowned out by his MP3 player, since Sasuke didn't believe that Naruto should be rewarded for his persistence, but when even through the calming sounds coming from his ear plugs Sasuke could hear Naruto shouting in the hallway, he decided something had to be done.

"Some people are trying to sleep," Sasuke hissed pulling Naruto into his room and slamming a hand over his mouth. Naruto licked his palm and Sasuke whipped his hand away and wiped it on his trousers, glaring as he closed the door.

"You're not sleeping, you're still dressed," Naruto said, glancing around Sasuke's room.

"But that doesn't mean everyone else is awake," Sasuke said, rubbing his eyes with his hand.

"Then you really should have opened the door faster," Naruto said. "It's just plain inconsiderate." He leaned against the side of Sasuke's desk. "It's really tidy in here."

"Do you want something?" Sasuke gritted out.

Naruto looked at him pityingly. "Yes. PVA. Like I just said. I dunno how you learn all the equations with a memory like that."

Getting angry, Sasuke knew from experience, would be a waste of time. Instead he took a deep breath and opened the bottom drawer of his desk where he kept non-essential stationary. Although Sasuke liked to pretend he was tidier than he really was, he did still know where most items in his room were. After a few seconds, his hand closed around the cylindrical white bottle and he retrieved it, passing it to Naruto. "Here."

"Thanks!" Naruto gestured to the ice-lolly-stick derived sculpture that he had placed reverently on Sasuke's desk, on top of his closed Core Three textbook. "I need more to finish my centrepiece."

"Pardon?" Sasuke gazed placidly at the mess of wood and feathers, wondering if it would somehow resolve into something other than a mess before his eyes.

"My centrepiece!" Naruto picked it up and rotated it carefully so Sasuke could see all the way around. It appeared to have a paper clip antennae perched precariously on the end of a teal feather. "Do you think it could win?"

"Win what?" Sasuke asked, dumbfounded. The contraption wobbled slightly.

"The Christmas Craft Competition!" Naruto uncapped the glue and dabbed a little on his finger, leaning over to apply it to the creation. "I think I'm going to win."

"Of course you'll win," Sasuke said, "no one ever enters." Not entirely true. Normally one or two year sevens entered, but the majority of students had no interest in it.

"All the better for me, I'll get the prizes." Naruto sneezed as a feather tickled his nose.

"They give cheap chocolate and _house points_, which don't count towards anything when you're in sixth form."

Naruto pulled a bottle of glitter out of his pocket. "It's the prestige that I'm after, and the chocolate." He glanced at Sasuke who was scowling. "Don't worry, I'll give you some as a reward for helping me."

"I'm not helping you," Sasuke grumbled. "This is stupid. It doesn't even look like a centrepiece. It looks like a patchwork elephant threw up."

"It's modern art," Naruto sniffed. "Just you wait."

"Please leave now," Sasuke said, and pushed around out of the room.

(Naruto won a Toblerone. He gave two triangles to Sasuke.)

* * *

The library was surprisingly cosy for such an old school. It had large arched windows on one side, desks for quiet study nestled amongst the shelves, and a fireplace surrounded by squashy blue armchairs. During the summer the grate was always empty, but as the winter months progressed it was lit more and more frequently.

As the term progressed, the workload increased and Sasuke found himself spending more and more time in the library, rather than returning to his cold room. It was quiet, as libraries generally were, particularly since after an hour of enforced study, most boys felt they had earned the right to kill a few brain cells on the games consoles in the common room.

Sasuke was reading a book set during the Cold War. Reading it had not only educated him about the Cold War, but informed him that Naruto's grasp of history was incredibly poor, considering he was taking the subject at A Level. ("The Cold War was in Russia, right?" "It wasn't _in_ Russia, it was between Russia and The USA." "But isn't that why they call it the 'Cold War'?" "What?" "Because it was in Russia. And it's cold there. And they wear those fur hoods all the time.") He was about midway through and was starting to find it difficult to distinguish the characters from each other. Aside from the heating issue, he chose to read in the library because it required concentration and Naruto had developed an irritating habit of interrupting the free time he spent in his room.

"Nearly finished, Sasuke?" He glanced up to see Miss Haruno smiling at him and holding out a mug. "Here, hot chocolate. But shhh, don't' tell anyone, okay? Our secret."

Sasuke took the mug carefully after setting his book aside for the moment, suppressing a slight blush. "Thanks."

"It's cold, even with the fire," Miss Haruno said, settling in an armchair across from Sasuke and cupping her own mug. She pursed her lips and blew on it, disturbing the wisps of steam rising from the surface. "How is the book going?"

"I've just finished the chapter during the weekend at the summerhouse," Sasuke said, warming his hands on the mug.

"What do you think?" Miss Haruno asked, taking a sip of her drink. She wore a white shirt underneath a plum colored knit, and a grey skirt. Tiny purple bauble-shaped earrings hung from her ears, swinging when she moved her head and catching the light.

"It's good," Sasuke said. "The descriptions are nice, but the plot is a little depressing."

"Mm, true," Miss Haruno adjusted her glasses, to which she'd tied a little piece of purple tinsel. "It should pick up a little towards the end."

"I'll look forward to it," Sasuke said, taking a sip of his own drink. It was bitter, to his relief, made from dark chocolate rather than milk.

There was silence for a while as they drank. Once she was finished, Miss Haruno stood up, taking her mug. "I'd better get back to inventory, I want to put up the Christmas decorations tomorrow, I'm running behind this year." She sighed. "It comes so fast every year."

"Yeah." Sasuke finished his drink and let Miss Haruno collect his empty mug.

"What about you, Sasuke? Looking forward to the holidays this year?" She clutched the mugs and gave him a thoughtful look.

Sasuke shrugged. "I'm not really a Christmas person."

From the look Miss Haruno gave him, Sasuke wondered whether or not she had looked into the file the school kept on him. "Well, perhaps Naruto can lend you some of his Christmas spirit? That boy seems to have enough for the whole school!"

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked, surprised at the turn of conversation.

"Mm, you two seem like you're close friends," she continued softly. "I think he's good for you." With another little smile, she headed back to the desk, leaving Sasuke looking bewilderedly into the fire.

* * *

The Monday before the end of term found the school buzzing with Christmas spirit. Teachers hummed carols, students raced to finish last minute gifts and daydream through class, and Miss Haruno was nearly caught under the mistletoe three times, despite the headteacher's insistence that none had been hung in the school.

The Oxford interview he had been to the previous week dominated Sasuke's thoughts as he walked back to his room. He couldn't help but rethink what he had said, and should have said, despite knowing there was nothing he could change now.

He pushed open the door from the stairwell to the landing, took a handful of steps and was suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled into a room.

Sasuke struggled, feeling an arm wrap around his waist from behind and a hand cover his mouth, stopping him from shouting out. Adrenaline surged and he elbowed his attacker, managing to hook a leg behind their shin and send them both tumbling to the floor.

"Ooof," said Naruto. "What was that for?"

"What do you mean 'what was that for?' You grabbed me!" Sasuke snarled angrily, slapping away the arm that was pinning him to Naruto and standing up. "Why?"

"I'm kidnapping you!" Naruto said, not sounding at all upset for someone that had just been overpowered by the person they were supposedly kidnapping. "It's up to you whether you come quietly, but I should tell you that I'm prepared to use force if necessary."

"Judging from that display I'm not exactly quivering with fear," Sasuke sneered. "And you seem to have forgotten our tutoring session."

"I didn't _forget_ it, I'm skipping it!" Naruto was wearing his red jacket and gloves.

"And just why do you think I would let you skip?" Sasuke asked. "I can't tutor you if you're not there."

"Duh, I know that," Naruto crossed his hands over his chest. "Obviously you would say I shouldn't skip, but that's because you're weird and have to be forced into having fun for some reason-"

"I do not have to be forc-"

"So that's why I'm kidnapping you!"

Sasuke gave him a look and walked out of the room. "I'll see you in the library in ten minutes." He closed the door.

He'd only taken four steps before the door was opened and Naruto jumped on him, sending them both to the floor once again, unfortunately face first for Sasuke.

"Stop that," Sasuke said the fifth time Sasuke stepped on a twig and Naruto dropped to the floor and rolled towards the nearest tree. Naruto gave him an appalled look.

"I have to! What if someone sees us?"

"Only an idiot would be out in the woods at night in the middle of winter when it snowed three days ago and got colder since. Not to mention you make far more noise rolling around like that than just walking. Also it's stupid."

"You are such a jerk," Naruto hissed, struggling to keep his voice down. "I don't know why I bother with you."

"I suspect some sort of mental deficiency," Sasuke muttered, pushing a tree branch out of his way and letting it smack into Naruto's face.

"Owwww, wanker," Naruto grabbed the offending branch and pushed it behind him. "I should have just left you."

The forest was reduced to greyscale in the night, with differing layers of shadow the only way to differentiate between objects. Frequently, Sasuke saw something move out of his periphery and spun, only to recognise a tree branch shaking in the wind, or a bird alighting in a tree.

"Where are we going anyway?" Sasuke asked, ignoring him. He was freezing, despite his coat and gloves. Naruto couldn't be much better, since he was only in his short coat. In the daytime the weather was cold enough, but at night, without the feeble heat of the sun, it was freezing. The ground was difficult to traverse as well, with leaves hiding patches of icy mud and naked branches hardly visible in the moonlight.

"It's a surprise," Naruto mumbled, having a little trouble with a bush that had caught hold of one of his gloves. "I found it the other day." He managed to free himself with a little tug and squinted at the glove to see the damage. In his other hand, he was holding a canvas bag that Sasuke refused to ask about and Naruto hadn't seen fit to enlighten him about.

"Is the surprise frostbite?" Sasuke asked acidly. Naruto shoved him. Sasuke shoved him back. There was a brief scuffle before Sasuke snorted and stalked off, hands in his pockets.

Naruto quickly caught up. "Hey, you just went the wrong way. Shows how much _you_ know." He steered Sasuke off the main path to the side.

Through the trees, Sasuke could see something whiteish. At first he thought it was just snow and that Naruto had somehow managed to find an area that hadn't melted into slush, but has he went closer, brushing aside branches impatiently, he realised it was ice.

"I found it this morning," Naruto said as they stepped forward. It was a large area of ice, clear of trees and bushes, shining in the moonlight and bright enough to make Sasuke blink a few times. "I didn't realise it was cold enough to freeze it, but it's rock solid, I checked."

"This is...the pond," Sasuke said as they reached the edge. Naruto crouched down and opened the bag.

"Yup! It must have frozen last week to be so thick. It's uneven because of the snow, but should still be okay to skate on."

That caught Sasuke's attention. "Don't be stupid, we can't skate on it, it's not safe."

"Sure it is!" Naruto insisted. "I checked all the way round. So long as we stay in the middle, we should be fine. It's really frozen solid, I've skated on way thinner."

"We can't anyway, we don't have skates," Sasuke argued, looking warily at the ice.

"Yes we do! I took them from the sports storage early. I don't think they've been used for years." Naruto produced two pairs of battered looking blue and red ice skates from the canvas bag. "Miss Haruno told me that years and years ago they used to have a pond in the grounds that they used to skate on. You're a nine, right?"

"An eight," Sasuke corrected. "I don't think this is a good idea."

"Your feet are too small for me to take your opinion seriously," Naruto said gravely, passing him one of the pairs. "These will probably be a bit big."

Sasuke took the shoes, wrinkling his nose in distaste. The laces were grey and knotted. Naruto seemed undeterred, having sat down on the floor and was tugging off his trainers. Sasuke examined the boots again. They seemed to be in working order, although he hadn't skated much in his life; just once or twice when he was younger. He considered the options, and sighed. "If we drown, I'm going to kill you."

"If you have fun, will you give me a prize?" Naruto asked with a snort.

"There's very little chance of that happening," Sasuke grumbled, but lifted his head to watch Naruto's first few steps onto the ice. He had sort of expected Naruto to stomp out into the middle of the lake, and was impressed by the first few careful steps, and the surprisingly graceful skating that followed.

A sudden wind distracted Sasuke from the unsteady but growing in confidence movements Naruto was making, and he shivered, feeling as though the cold went straight through him. He curled his arms around him, trying to warm up slightly, to no avail. 'What was he doing out here?' he thought angrily. It was freezing. His mind drifted longingly to thoughts of the library. Miss Haruno had probably lit a fire in the hearth. Maybe she was drinking hot chocolate...

"Hey!" Sasuke started as he felt himself being pulled forward, Naruto tugging at his wrists and bringing him precariously close to the ice. Sasuke tried to resist, but it was difficult to balance in the ice skates. "Naruto, quit it."

"You're going to get pneumonia if you just stand there," Naruto scolded, ignoring him and succeeding in getting him onto the ice. Sasuke half tripped the first few steps before he managed a shaking slide forward, adjusting to the motion. Naruto laughed. "Have you ever skated before?"

Ignoring the question, Sasuke took a few more steps, his body relearning the best ways to move on the ice. The frozen surface wasn't completely smooth, and his movements were a lot slower than Naruto's, who was racing up and down, even doing little turns as though he was a seasoned expert. Sasuke kept his head down, scanning the ground immediately ahead of him. After a few minutes he felt himself growing in confidence, gliding further and faster. It was easier, he found, to keep his balance if he was constantly in motion.

"Not bad at all, Uchiha." Sasuke hadn't noticed Naruto skate up behind him, and as a result lost his rhythm, front foot sliding out in front of him awkwardly, and he nearly fell, but Naruto grabbed his elbows and hauled him back up. "Whoops, spoke too soon." He laughed.

"You just startled me, moron," Sasuke grumbled, untangling himself and straightening.

"Sure, sure," Naruto said, with a slight air of condescension. "Wanna race?"

Sasuke didn't really want to race. He had an image in his mind of falling, cracking his head open and painting a gory red picture across the ice. On the other hand, the cocky, self-assured way that Naruto was looking at him demanded he accept.

"Fine," Sasuke grumbled, glancing around. "Where-"

"Go!" Naruto shouted, shooting off across the surface of the lake, skates cutting cleanly through the ice, leaving Sasuke to stumble forward in surprise, before giving chase.

Predictably, Naruto fell onto the opposite bank first, although Sasuke had managed to gain admirably, given the former's head start.

"I won!" Naruto crowed, turning around and pulling his skates out of the reeds they had become tangled in.

"You cheated," Sasuke said coolly, sliding to a stop as Naruto struggled to his feet. "You're supposed to count down."

"Says who?" Naruto grinned. "Rematch then?"

By the fifth race, Sasuke had improved his technique to the extent that he was not only able to beat Naruto, but able to twist at the end, to stop himself falling forward when he tried to stop. Unfortunately, Naruto refused to admit defeat, and kept demanding they race again and again.

"How about, all the way round the pond twice, first person back wins?" Naruto asked, practically bouncing on his skates. A few feet away, Sasuke glared, out of breath from the previous round.

"Why don't you just admit that I'm faster than you?" he suggested, trying to calm down his breathing.

"Puuuuu, you're no fun," Naruto said, scowling. He tried to scuff his foot against the ice, but misbalanced and slipped, landing hard with his legs splayed out in front of him.

Caught by surprise, Sasuke laughed out loud, his amusement increasing at Naruto's expression. "Idiot."

"Hey!" Naruto scowled, leaning forward a bit to swipe at Sasuke's leg. He didn't manage to reach, but Sasuke, alarmed, tried to move backwards, and fell, his arms pinwheeling until they impacted with the ice. He was thankful for his gloves. "Ahahaha." Naruto pointed, laughing. "Not so clever now, are you?"

Sasuke grunted in response, finding that the fall hadn't hurt as much as it should have, suggesting his legs had gone numb. Oddly, the hard surface felt comfortable, he didn't feel like getting up. Maybe he could lie down and just stare up at the sky. That would be nice.

"Pffft, you're such a pushover, Uchiha," Naruto said. He had stood and was looming over him, hair falling in his eyes. "No stamina whatsoever. You should do more sport."

"I play sport." Sasuke took the hand Naruto offered and found himself on his feet, with only a little effort, sliding slightly. "Tennis, cricket, fencing. They're just summer sports."

"Fencing? I bet I'd rule at that. They do crazy sports here." Naruto skated in a circle, facing Sasuke and doing a little turn. "What other stuff can you do here?"

"Badminton, horse riding..." Sasuke cast his thoughts back. "Ballet."

"_Ballet_?" Naruto's eyes were wide, incredulous. "No way. Seriously?" At Sasuke's affirmation, he looked shell-shocked. "I guess that's why you're so graceful and shit?"

"I guess."

Naruto blinked. "I was kidding. You actually did _ballet_?"

Oh. Sasuke flushed slightly. "It...it wasn't optional."

Naruto laughed so much he fell over again. Sasuke didn't help him up. "That's so- Oh, wow. Just. Wow. Seriously?"

"Seriously." Sasuke's expression darkened as Naruto's laughter continued. "It's not that funny."

"It really, really is." Naruto managed to get up. "Shouldn't you be more into this ice skating thing, since you're all Lord of the Dance?"

"It was one class," Sasuke hissed.

"And yet I've never seen you bust a move," Naruto said sadly. "I feel cheated, Sasuke. Cheated." He brushed a hand through his hair, face flushed with amusement and cold. He grinned at Sasuke who felt his breath catch, just for a second, and then Naruto laughed again and the moment was gone.

As Naruto opened his mouth, no doubt to make another ballet-directed joke, Sasuke interrupted. "Let's have another race."

"Hell yeah!" Naruto said, pumping his fist. "Go!"

"Hey wai-"

The next day in further maths they both fell asleep, and Naruto drooled all over his diagram of a sine curve.

* * *

Sasuke was reluctant to unfold his napkin. It had been shaped into a swan, and sat proudly in the middle of his empty plate. He thought he knew how to fold the shape, but he knew his attempts wouldn't come out as flawlessly. Across from him, Itachi and his father had already shaken out the folds in preparation for the meal.

"Tada!" The roast chicken was placed in the centre of the table with a flourish. "Dinner is served!" Sasuke's mother beamed at the chicken for a moment, hands on her hips, lost for a moment in pride, before taking her own seat next to Sasuke. She wore a dark blue silk dress, from which her bare arms and neck appeared ivory and flawless, with a tint of blush on her cheeks.

Sasuke's father stood to carve, as his mother started describing the way that she had stuffed the chicken and glazed the meat. Sasuke smiled, and his eyes met his brothers over the table, sharing a grin.

They settled down to eat, the food was so delicious Sasuke couldn't wait for it to cool down and burnt his tongue, earning a light scolding from his mother and a chuckle from his brother.

"Itachi, how is university?" Fugaku asked. Itachi paused in raising his glass to answer.

"It's going well. It was difficult to balance sports, societies and studies to begin with, but now I've managed a good system." Itachi's voice was measured, but relaxed. He took another sip of his drink. Sasuke was drinking grape juice, but the rest of the family had wine.

"That's good to hear, I knew you'd adjust well," Fugaku said. The conversation was backed by the slide of crockery and cutlery, tableware delicately clinking against each other as the family ate. "And Sasuke, how's school going?"

Halfway through a battle with a chicken leg, Sasuke looked up. "It's all good. School's fun." His mother gave him an indulgent smile and he grinned back, kicking his feet under the table. Fugaku inclined his head gravely.

"Your reports so far have been excellent," he said. Sasuke glowed with pride, stuffing his face with mashed potato to hide his gleeful expression. "I'm so proud of both you."

"And it's so nice to see you both," Mikoto sighed, then frowned as the phone rang. "Who can that be?" She rose to answer it, then halted as Sasuke reached out, grabbing onto the fabric of her dress to stop her from moving. "Oh Sasuke. Look what you've done." Sasuke looked from his fingers that were clasping the blue silk, to where his elbow had knocked over his glass, spilling dark red juice all over the pristine tablecloth. "That'll never come out."

Sasuke jerked awake, disorientated for a second, as he looked from side to side. Music was playing softly, afternoon light was falling in through the window, and he was lying on his dorm bed. He blinked, regaining his bearings and then jumped again as his phone rang. He half fell off his bed and fumbled for it, taking a deep breath before answering. "Hello?"

"Sasuke." Of course. Itachi. Who else would be calling him?

"How are you?" Sasuke asked politely, sitting back on his bed and drawing a line in the carpet with his toe.

"Very well, thank you. Yourself?"

"Fine."

"School breaks up tomorrow. I'll stop by at noon. Make sure you're ready on time."

Sasuke nodded. "Okay." He racked his brain, trying to think of a good conversation closer. "I'll-"

"Hey Sasuke, do you think Miss Haruno's boobs look-" Naruto burst in through the door, already halfway through a conversation, and paused when he saw Sasuke was on the phone. "Hey! You're on the phone!"

"Who's that?" Itachi asked, amused.

"No one," Sasuke hissed, ignoring the hurt look Naruto gave him. Covering the phone slightly, he motioned towards the door that he _thought_ he had locked. "Get out."

"But-"

"It's nice that you have a friend," Itachi commented.

"Who're you talking to? Since when do you have a mobile? You didn't give me your number!" Naruto seemed appalled.

"You live down the hall," Sasuke pointed out. "Please _leave_."

"Is it a _girl_? Oh Sasuke, Sasuke, you're so _dreaaaaaamy_," Naruto teased in a horrible falsetto.

"Naruto..." Sasuke growled in warning, forgetting to cover the phone.

"Naruto? Interesting name," Itachi said. Sasuke glared at the phone, having momentarily forgotten about it.

"Itachi, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye," he said shortly, hanging up and turning to Naruto who was grinning. "What the hell?"

"So like I was saying," Naruto continued. "Miss Haruno's boobs. I think they've gotten bigger. Maybe she's put on weight? Really, I think her subtle curves are nice, but-"

"Naruto, get _out_," Sasuke said, rubbing his face with his hand. When Naruto just stared, not moving, Sasuke stood and pushed him, none too gently, out of the still opened door. Slamming it shut, he took care to lock it, before moving back to his bed and flopping back down.

He ignored the muffled "Merry Christmas" that was called through the door.

* * *

When Sasuke rolled his suitcase out of the room on his way to meet Itachi, one of the wheels caught on a square red envelope that had been wedged under his door. The card inside had a picture of Santa pulling the sleigh, while the reindeer held the reigns. It was not funny, so Sasuke did not laugh. The corner of his mouth did twitch up, however.

_Merry Christmas Sourpuss!_ the card read inside in orange ink. _ Have a good holiday. Don't eat too much turkey or you'll get fat. See you in the new year!_

_Your friend,_

_Naruto._

_P.S. Get back to me on Miss Haruno's boobs after the holiday, alright?_

* * *

**AN: **Thanks to those who've left me reviews ^^ You guys rule. I changed the way I do paragraph breaks, because I usually just use one * and keeps eating them, so there are no breaks between paragraphs ;-;. I changed it to **** (original, I know) so I hope that works.

I keep forgetting to update this, sorry, my bad. Don't worry, I'll catch myself up soon enough. Look forward to Seldom Woods: January!


	4. January

**Seldom Woods**

_January_

Four tree-shaped air-fresheners, the type usually hung from the rear-view mirror in a car, had been shoved under Sasuke's door. As a result, as soon as he set foot into his room he gagged on the overly potent smell and ran to open his window. Once the room was somewhat fumigated, enough to ensure he could breathe without choking, Sasuke debated what to do with them. Despite having been there for some time, they still reeked of 'fresh pine' and would probably stink up his room further if he left them there. He was tempted to throw them out of the window, but that would be littering. He settled for abandoning them in the hallway a fair distance from his room and hoping no one implicated him.

Though the question of 'why?' was unanswerable from Sasuke's point of view, the question of 'who?' was very obvious. Part of him wanted to go knock on Naruto's door and demand a reason -if there was one, which he doubted- or an apology, which was very unlikely to occur. On the other hand, he hadn't heard from Naruto over the holiday- not that he expected to -and given their last exchange, it was completely plausible that Naruto was still angry with him for kicking him out of his room before.

Instead, he walked to the window and looked out at the grounds. They were covered in snow, but the hard, frozen kind that was no good for anything except blocking roads until it reluctantly melted. He couldn't see the road from his dorm, but he knew Itachi was long gone. And that was a good thing. Sasuke had no desire to prolong his nightmare of a Christmas break and it was a relief to be finally alone. The sun had only just set behind the trees, casting orange light through the branches and turning the sky lilac; it was too early to sleep. And yet Sasuke felt exhausted. He abandoned his bag by the door and grabbed some sleepwear out of his drawers, taking comfort in their familiarity, and changed into them, before slipping into his bed and into slumber.

"Giiiiiiirls. Giiiiiirls. Giiirls with big boobs in short skirts. All kinds of girls..." A pause. "I haven't seen a cute girl in so long. This school is killing me. It's caging my free spirit. How am I supposed to appreciate the feminine form as much as it deserves in an all boys' school? What was that old pervert thinking? It must be worse for you. You probably don't even remember what girls _look_ like. Don't worry, I've got your back." Another pause. "Then again, you'd better not take all the girls for yourself. Not that they would choose you over me. Because I'm clearly awesomer."  
Managing to open his eyes, Sasuke recognised Naruto smiling down at him. "Mmph."

"Good afternoon Sasuke." Naruto had done something to his hair that involved gel. He resembled a hedgehog. Aside from that he looked normal, dressed in casual clothes and acting as though he had won the lottery.

"Naruto."

"The one and only."

"Why. Are you here?" Sasuke sat up, shivering slightly as his skin met the cold air in the room.

"Important business!" Mentally Sasuke translated that as code for 'because I'm an idiot.'

"I mean. How? I locked the door." Sasuke slowly returned to reality, fumbling for coherency.

Naruto puffed out his chest as though expecting a reward. "I climbed in through the window! You know there's a massive ledge that goes around this side of the building? It's like they want us to sneak into each others' rooms!"

"...Right." Sasuke's mouth felt absolutely disgusting. He could kill for a glass of water. "The air fresheners?"

"That was me!" Naruto proudly nodded. "Genius, no?"

"...Back to why."

"Okay okay, get this," Naruto sat back on the bed, leaning on his hands and ignoring the fact that Sasuke was lying there, and the bed was a single. "So this guy in my music class, has an uncle, who has a sister, whose son has a friend that goes to this girls' school a couple of hours away and they're coming _here_."

Sasuke blinked. "What?"

"I _know_," Naruto said, grinning inanely. "It's gonna be awesome, right? Apparently they're coming down next weekend, for a two day trip or something, because the village is just 'so picturesque.'"

Naruto clearly had no plans of moving, so Sasuke got up himself and padded across his room to get a bottle of water, gulping it down greedily, before shutting the window and turning up the radiator."You realise, this happens every year?"

"Huh?"

"The village gets tonnes of school trips visiting. At least one of them ends up being a group of girls." Sasuke wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and closed the bottle.

"Oh..." Naruto took a moment to digest. "But still! Girls! Lots of 'em!"

"...Right." At some point Naruto had sprawled himself over the bed, so Sasuke leaned back on his desk. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because! I need you to be my...backup! Or something. I can't just go chat up a load of cute schoolgirls. It'll seem creepy! Besides, you know they go around in groups; getting one on their own is a lot harder than getting two."

Ruffling up the back of his hair, Sasuke frowned slightly. "Surely you have someone you'd rather go with."

Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly, then his mouth formed a little o of surprise and he laughed. "I get it, you're scared that you won't get any girls if I'm there to distract them? Don't worry," he assured, benevolently. "I'll send a couple your way. Maybe one of them will go for the evil, brooding type."

"I don't mean that." Sasuke was irritated by the overly understanding nod and smile that Naruto gave him. "I don't. I mean." He glanced out of the window, not really seeing. "Why would you want to go with me?"

Out of the periphery of his vision, Sasuke saw Naruto tilt his head slightly. "Why wouldn't I want to go with you?"

"Aren't you angry with me?" Sasuke cursed the way it sounded, so whiney and pathetic. He kept his eyes on the window. When Naruto didn't say anything, he slowly turned his head, to find himself being scrutinised by an unreadable look. "About before."

"Are you angry with me for interrupting your phone call?" Despite not mentioning it, and acting completely oblivious to Sasuke's mood, Naruto caught up quickly.

"No...I was at the time. Not now."

For a second Naruto stayed serious, and then his face broke into a wide, familiar smile. "Then I'm not angry with you either!" He kicked his feet, still grinning. "So about these girls."

"Aren't you supposed to be in love with Miss Haruno?" Sasuke asked, trying to catch up with this sudden change of tone.

"Sasuke, if you ever again doubt my love of Miss Haruno and her skirts, both pencil and tartan, I will be deeply upset with you," Naruto declared loftily. "In fact, this whole expedition is in her honour."

"...You're going to hit on some schoolgirls...for Miss Haruno's sake?"

Shaking his head sadly, Naruto gave Sasuke a pitying smile. "I should have known you wouldn't understand. It's like this. Miss Haruno thinks that she and I are not destined to be together- in this life, at least -and suggests that I find myself a nice girl to hang out with until we're reincarnated together."

"Shot you down, huh?" Sasuke said with a smirk.

Naruto's ponderful expression switched to a scowl. "Like she ever gave you the time of day."

"She makes me hot chocolate," Sasuke boasted, feeling no need to add that she had only done it once.

"Really? Damnit, how can she have such bad taste?" Naruto muttered, dismayed.

Between breakfast on Monday, through to last period on Friday afternoon, after which Sasuke banned Naruto from his room, he counted seventy eight mentionings of the much anticipated visit from the girls' school.

"You're out of wax, by the way." Naruto threw the empty pot at him, followed by the bright green lid. It bounced off his shoulder and landed on the bed. Sasuke ignored it, turning the page of his book.

"Thanks," he said tonelessly, shifting a little higher on the bed, his pillow propped against the wall. "Are you ready yet?"

"Do I _look_ ready, Uchiha," Naruto demanded, turning around, hands on hips and glaring. He was wearing a striped rugby shirt and jeans, with his blond hair spiked up in many directions, courtesy of Sasuke's hair wax.

"You're such a girl," Sasuke muttered, turning back to his book after a second of consideration.

"Asshole." Naruto turned back to the mirror, pulling speculatively at different clumps of hair.

"Tool." Sasuke didn't even look up from his book.

"Dick."

"At least I have one." Sasuke closed his book, carefully setting the bookmark it in and laying it on his bedside table before smirking at Naruto's reflection.

"I've yet to see any proof of you _using_ it," Naruto returned, ruffling it up.

"Just as well," Sasuke stood, moving to stand behind Naruto. "Wouldn't want you to get jealous." He grinned, eyes catching Naruto's and was surprised to see a flash of uncertainty there for just a second.

"Puuuu, there's little chance of that happening." Naruto gave his hair a final pat; it looked exactly the same as it always did, despite the last twenty minutes of primping. "Alright, I'm done."

"Finally," Sasuke said, grabbing his keys, only to have Naruto grab his arm. "What?"

"Don't tell me you're going like that! You haven't even done anything with your hair! You always fuss with your hair." Sasuke shrugged off the arm, glaring.

"I do not fuss. And what's the point? You used up all my wax."

"Then at least change! You look like a schoolteacher."

Sasuke looked down at his outfit: shirt, jersey, trousers. "What?"

"Arg, we're not trying to _scare_ the girls." Naruto pushed Sasuke to sit on the bed and stormed about the small room. "Here, put these on." He thrust a pair of jeans that had been lying in the laundry basket.

"Hey, those are dirty," Sasuke protested. "Hence their being in the laundry basket."

"They're _jeans_. How can they even get dirty? Put them on."

"You appall me," Sasuke muttered, but changed as requested, while Naruto complained about the jersey he had chosen.

"This is impossible," Naruto moaned into his banana split.

"Can we go back then?" Sasuke asked, poking unenthusiastically at the single scoop of coffee flavoured ice cream sitting his bowl.

"No, I refuse to give up. I just need refuelling," Naruto insisted, scooping up half a banana and shoving it into his mouth, resulting in a blob of ice cream on his nose. Sasuke did not say anything. There was no point, since Naruto's napkin as well as his own had both been used to mop up a previous ice cream spillage. Sasuke was putting up with this entire fiasco, he wanted to get some amusement out of it, at least. "It's just stupid."

"Something is," Sasuke agreed, watching Naruto destroy his meticulously created dessert, turning it into a pile of mush.

Naruto, it appeared, was not the only one that had heard about the school visiting. By time they got to the excuse of a village centre, there were at least a dozen sixth formers milling around and chatting to the girls who seemed to have a day free to explore the village. Naruto blamed this unforseen circumstance for their inability to find any girls to chat with and had insisted they get ice-cream to somehow lessen the blow.

"Gah, it's too cold," Naruto whined, prodding a cherry with his spoon.

"You're eating ice-cream in January. What do you expect?" Ignoring his comment, Naruto carried on complaining, waving his spoon around and describing the general unfairness of the world. Sasuke looked past Naruto, towards the counter of the small dessert shop they were in, wondering if buying Naruto a pancake would shut him up. Instead he noticed a pair of girls that had just entered. To his surprise, the shorter of the two was looking in their direction, while the other stalked up to the counter to order.

She was cute, Sasuke decided. The thick duffle coat she wore couldn't quite disguise her figure, generous, given she was probably only sixteen. She had long dark hair and a timid look on her face, along with a fierce blush that seemed to grow as she looked towards their table. Despite that, she hadn't noticed that Sasuke was looking at her, making him think that he wasn't the subject of her attention.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" Naruto craned his neck looking round. The girl's blush intensified and she ducked her head down, confirming Sasuke's suspicions. "Wow, _nice_."

Holding two milkshakes, the other girl, a blonde wearing skinny jeans with heels that would look painful if they didn't look sexy, noticed her friend's preoccupation. She stared shamelessly in their direction, before leaning down slightly to whisper in her companion's ear, a feline smirk spreading across her face.

"Holy shit, they're coming over here, what do I do?" Naruto snapped his head back to look desperately across the table.

"You have ice cream on your nose," Sasuke said.

"What the-" Naruto grabbed a somewhat soggy napkin and swiped at his nose, managing to get the blob off just as the girls arrived. The blonde had a strong grip on her friend's forearm and beamed at them through freshly painted lips, while the brunette kept her face down, what was visible of her skin was bright red.

"Do you mind if we join you?" the blonde asked, ignoring the clear discomfort of her friend.

"Sure," Naruto blurted. "I mean, go ahead." He shuffled down slightly, motioning for Sasuke to do the same. She slid into the seat next to Sasuke, pushing the other girl slightly into the seat next to Naruto. The girl looked so terrified Sasuke couldn't help but give her a small reassuring smile. Her eyes widened and she looked back down, trying to hide her face with her hair.

"I'm Ino," the blonde introduced herself, stirring her milkshake with her straw. "And this is Hinata."

"I'm Naruto." The introduction was accompanied by a sharp kick to Sasuke's shin.

"Sasuke," he muttered, glaring across the table.

"N-nice to meet you," Hinata mumbled, twisting the straw she was holding.

"Are you visiting the village?" Naruto asked, addressing both of them. He seemed to have forgotten about his demolished dessert.

"Yup, school trip," Ino said, taking a coy slurp of her drink. "Just for the weekend." She had a light accent. "We've come up from London."

"Wow, you're Londoners?" Naruto raised his eyebrows. "What's it like there?"

To Sasuke's surprise, Hinata answered. "It's v-very different," she managed. "N-not as green."

"And far bigger," Ino added. "But this place is nice. Quaint. You guys go to school here?"

"Yup, it's a boarding school, that's why it's in the middle of nowhere. But it's cool. Right Sasuke?"

"Yeah, it's okay," Sasuke said. Ino's perfume was quite nice. Flowery. A little stronger than the scent Miss Haruno favoured, but still nice. "What's the trip for?"

"Art. We spent all of yesterday sketching wildlife."

"Wow, you guys are artists?" Naruto looked impressed. Sasuke wasn't surprised, Naruto's skill for drawing didn't expand outside of stick figures.

Ino laughed prettily, her shoulders brushing against Sasuke as she did so. "Oh no. I'm terrible. Hinata's really good though. The way she draws birds makes you think they're going to fly off the page."

"Really?" At the sudden attention from Naruto, Hinata looked as though she was going to explode if she got any redder.

"N-no, I'm really not that good," she mumbled into her milkshake.

"Nonsense," Ino insisted. "She's brilliant." She nodded decisively to herself, making the fringe that swept back over her eyes bob a little.

Sasuke watched, feeling a little sorry for Hinata, as Naruto and Ino continued discussing her apparent talent until she was coaxed into drawing an owl onto a napkin with a biro. Naruto insisted it was the most amazing thing he had seen in his life and asked her to sign it, oblivious to her mood.

The four of them left the shop together after paying, Naruto offering to guide the girls around the village. He gallantly offered Hinata his arm, which she took after only a moment's hesitation, while Ino stuck to Sasuke's side in a mildly irritating way, but nowhere near enough to make him want to move away.

While Ino chattered away in his ear about how the trip nearly got cancelled because of the weather, and weren't they lucky that the snow melted, Sasuke glanced over to Naruto who was talking animatedly with the girl on his arm. Naruto, Sasuke was surprised to note, was good with girls. He was friendly, maybe a little too loud, especially for a girl as shy as Hinata, but the more they talked, the more they seemed to be at ease. Even Ino, who had made her preference for Sasuke more than clear, kept sending him thoughtful glances.

They visited the sweetshop, where Ino bought a bag of pineapple chunks, pleading a weakness for them, and the four of them shared. The girls cooed at the old fashioned houses and the narrow streets and cobbled pavements of the village, finding everything 'quaint' and 'adorable.'

"Are there any lakes or rivers around here?" Ino wanted to know as they walked up a slight hill. She had managed to link arms with Sasuke, who couldn't really complain. The feeling of her slight body pressing against his was far from unpleasant.

"There's a great pond in the woods near the school, right, Sasuke?" They were walking in a line, which was difficult, given the width of the streets, but it was the easiest way to talk without excluding anyone. The girls were on the sides, with Naruto and Sasuke next to each other.

"Yeah." Sasuke didn't elaborate. He didn't really like the idea of Naruto taking the girls through the woods to the pond.

"Sasuke and I went skating on it before Christmas, it completely iced over. He fell loads though."

"Impressive selective memory, you have there Uzumaki," Sasuke commented.

"It sounds lovely!" Ino gushed as they passed a row of cottages. "Could we see?"

No doubt she was imagining a romantic, isolated spot, but Sasuke noticed Naruto's step falter slightly. "It's kind of far away, don't you have to be back soon?"

Glancing down at the pink, heart faced watch on her wrist, Ino sighed. "You're right. We should probably head back now."

"Another time, maybe," Hinata suggested. Naruto nodded, smiling widely.

"Sure, sure. So where is it we're escorting you ladies?"

Ino gave him the name of one of the main roads, where they were supposed to get into the minibus and with a little help from Sasuke, they managed to get there with another group of girls who gave Naruto and Sasuke curious looks, making the little confidence that Hinata had managed to scrounge up disappear in seconds.

Ino pulled out her phone, elbowing Hinata to do the same, and the four of them exchanged numbers. Once that was done, Ino snapped her phone shut, and with look of determination in her eye, surged forward to give Sasuke a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks for showing us around," she said when she pulled back, grinning slyly. Sasuke couldn't manage more than a slight incline of his head. Next to her, Hinata seemed to think the two of them were going to get arrested, her eyes were so wide.

"Um, Hinata?" Naruto started, realising the girl was too terrified to do anything on her own. "It was really nice to meet you. I hope we can stay in touch." He touched her hand gently, making her curl her fingers inwards.

"Oh, s-so do I," she said, her voice soft and halting. "And thank you, f-for showing us around. And being s-so nice."

Naruto laughed a little, his eyes light. "I doubt anyone could be less than nice to you."

"Oh...That is-"

"Hey, Hinata, I think we've gotta go," Ino said, looking at the girls boarding the bus behind them. "See you guys around, okay?" She gave Naruto and Sasuke a wave, pulling at Hinata's arm until the girl reluctantly followed her with a final backwards glance at Naruto.

"Just say it," Sasuke said eventually, when Naruto's fidgeting became unbearable. They were entering the school grounds, passing through the large black gate that bordered it. And if Naruto glanced at him one more time and then looked away without saying anything, Sasuke was going to punch him.

Naruto looked embarrassed for a second, as if he was going to deny it. Then he ducked his head.

"Have you. You know. Ever done it? With a girl?"

Sasuke blinked. "Had sex, you mean?"

"Yeah."

"No."

"Oh." Naruto seemed to think for a second. Sasuke wondered if he was surprised. "Cool. Me either." He moistened his lips nervously, keeping his eyes on the path in front of him. "It's just. Sometimes it's all I can think about. And sometimes I just wish it didn't exist."

At the unexpected comment, Sasuke slowed slightly, feeling that Naruto would stop the conversation once they got up to the school. He tried to keep his voice even, non-judgemental. "Why would you wish that?"

Naruto gnawed on his lip. "I...Say I saw a girl, that I liked and I wanted to ...do that with her. How do I even do it?"

Sasuke snorted lightly. "You didn't see the video they make you watch in year seven?"

"I saw the damn video. Asshole. I know what goes where." Naruto swallowed, moistening his lips as he tried to explain what he meant. "But...How do you do it? What if it goes wrong? What if you hurt her? What if you're just...bad?"

They were talking about sex, Sasuke realised. They were talking about it openly, despite their embarrassment. He wondered if other guys talked about it to each other. No one had ever brought up the subject seriously around him, but then again, he didn't have many people he considered friends at school and Miss Haruno or Itachi bringing it up would be disturbing, though in extremely different ways. Opening his mouth, Sasuke searched for the right words, speaking slowly, as though from a textbook. "No one's supposed to be amazing on the first time. I guess you just have to be careful."

"Yeah. I guess."

"...Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever think...about stuff...like that? I mean you don't have to tell me, if you don't want to. But the way you act, like you don't even care. Even with those girls today, the blonde one was so into you, and you hardly spoke to her."

"...I think about it. Probably not as much as you." Sasuke felt himself flush a little at the admission, but he felt anything but honesty would be an insult after Naruto had confided in him.

"Jerk." They reached the dormitory block and entered, walking up the stairs.

Sasuke was tempted to fall back into their easy pattern of insults, but something held him back, some little insecurity remaining in Naruto's voice. "I think it's normal. To be worried. People just talk big."

"You think?" Naruto sounded absurdly hopeful and Sasuke wondered just what it was that he had heard.

"Yeah. Deep down, I bet most guys are terrified."

Relieved, Naruto gave him a side glance. "Are you saying you're terrified?"

Sasuke tipped his chin up arrogantly, sensing the playful turn of the conversation. "Of course not. I have every confidence in my own ability."

"Assuming you can get a girl to volunteer to sleep with you with that bastardly attitude."

"I've got more of a chance than you have with getting girls to sleep with your crazy self."

"Hey, I'm _charming_. Didn't you see me with those two today? I was awesome!"

"Those two were clearly crazy," Sasuke said, pausing by his door as Naruto leaned on the wall next to him, grinning.

"But _all_ girls are crazy."

Sasuke shrugged, a slight smirk on his lips. "Then I guess you might have a chance."

Naruto hadn't sat next to him in prep, which was suspicious in itself. Naruto had been late, which was not at all suspicious, and when fifteen minutes after the rest of the year had settled down to get some of their homework done and in some cases, cram for the upcoming January modules, Naruto bustled in, hair tousled, a harried apology under his breath, Sasuke hadn't been the least bit surprised.

It had become something of a routine for Sasuke to try and get the most serious work done before Naruto arrived, because once Naruto sat down next to him, concentration became an unattainable dream. For the majority of prep, Sasuke found himself torn between slamming the idiot's head to the desk and hoping that the teacher supervising would understand, and trying to make sense of his books while Naruto was doing everything in his power to distract him.

It wasn't as though Naruto wanted Sasuke to be distracted. He just accomplished it regardless of his aim. Naruto had an incredibly short attention span, he made goldfish look attentive, and the way in which everything fascinated him was reminiscent of a small puppy. Sasuke was just grateful that whenever, in his exasperation of watching Naruto chew on his pencil solidly, staring unseeingly at the paper, he caved and gave him the answer, Naruto didn't voice his appreciation by barking and licking his face.

Sasuke had only two more steps to solve his equation so he could use the trapezium rule to measure the area, when Naruto arrived and he mentally congratulated himself on getting so much work done and simultaneously resigned himself to getting nothing more done until he was locked in the privacy of his room. However, as he was making a show of taking his bag off the spare seat he happened to leave next to him, he realised that Naruto wasn't walking towards him at all. Instead, after giving him a short wave, Naruto headed over to another table and sat down there, with a group of people Sasuke vaguely recognised as being on the football team. Or the rugby team. Some sort of sport that involved getting muddy and cold that he had no desire to take part in.

Trying not to feel offended, which he had no reason to feel, he reminded himself, Sasuke ducked his head and returned to his equation, only to discover he had entirely lost his train of thought. Naruto _always_ sat next to him. And Sasuke would sigh, and grit his teeth, but normally by the time they got back to their rooms he would have cracked a smile, albeit a small one. So why was Naruto sitting on the other side of the room?

Frustrated, Sasuke told himself to appreciate small favours and take the opportunity to get some work done. The hour trickled by, and Sasuke found he was able to get most of his exercise finished, having clearly developed a high level of efficiency through always working under duress when Naruto was around. Occasionally he glanced up to see that Naruto was playing noughts and crosses with someone else, and losing as he always did. When Naruto noticed, he smiled and gave Sasuke a little wave, or made a face.

At the end of the hour, Sasuke packed his books and papers into his messenger bag, checking off his maths homework on his mental to-do list. Naruto, on the other side of the room, made elaborate gestures, from which Sasuke gathered he was supposed to wait for Naruto so they could walk back together, or alternatively he needed to stand on the table and cook spaghetti. Deciding on the former, mainly because it made the most sense and also because he had no spaghetti, Sasuke waited at the door while Naruto haphazardly threw things into his bag at a level of disorganisation that made Sasuke wince.

"Hey," Naruto said breathlessly, after jogging over. "You're going to the dorms, yeah?"

Sasuke agreed and they left the prep room, walking through the hallways that were quickly emptying as students rushed around to get things done in the hour before dinner. Naruto hummed slightly, completely out of tune in a manner that Sasuke found vaguely irritating. Typically, when Sasuke was going to the same place as Naruto, he found himself as something of a captive audience and short of running away had no way of escaping listening to every single thought that entered Naruto's head. The humming, occasional looks that kept being sent his way, and lack of conversation were unnerving. Three times, Sasuke nearly asked why Naruto was acting so strangely, but each time he reminded himself that at least a strange Naruto was a quiet Naruto.

They reached the dormitory building, walking quickly to get out of the cold air. Neither boy carried their coats to class, and after the sun had set the wind blew straight through their uniforms. They took the stairs with Naruto still not saying anything, and Sasuke becoming steadily more and more suspicious.

"Hey, can I come in for a bit?" Naruto asked finally, when Sasuke got to his room.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, suddenly feeling a nervous about already having the key in the lock.

Naruto adjusted his weight, shrugging. "I wanted to ask you something."

Feeling a few muscles tense, Sasuke finished unlocking but didn't push the door fully open. "Ask it here."

"Uuuh, why not inside?" Naruto asked, pointing past Sasuke into his room.

"You are so stupid." Feeling the battle was lost -the idiot always seemed to get his way somehow- Sasuke shoved his door open and walked in, not bothering to hold it open for Naruto and ignoring the offended noise from behind him.

"You always insult me! Why do you always-" Naruto had followed him in and at least returned to normal noise levels.

"They look exactly the same," Sasuke hissed, cheeks slightly red, internally cursing Naruto. Itachi probably never got himself into such idiotic situations. Naruto's stupidity must have been contagious.

"What?" Naruto blinked at him, blue eyes wide.

"_Exactly the same_," Sasuke repeated, focussing on keeping his voice down. Naruto was sending him insane.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Naruto looked concerned. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Urg, fine." Sasuke scowled, fists clenching around his keys. "I can't believe I'm saying this. Maybe a _tiny_ bit. One cup size."

Naruto blinked again, frowning and scrunching his nose up. "What are you- Ooohh!" He let out a short bark of laughter, holding his stomach in mirth. "A-are you talking about Miss Haruno's boobs?" Sasuke squinted at him. "What the hell is a cub size?"

"Cup size," Sasuke said. "It's how you measure the.." (he mimed curves) "breast part of a bra."

Naruto laughed again. "Why the fuck do you know that?"

"I just have good general knowledge," Sasuke defended hotly, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Okay, you know where the door is. I'll see you at dinner." Naruto didn't move. "What?"

"That's not what I was going to ask you," Naruto said, trying and failing to hide a smile. "But thanks for the input. Not sure about cup sizes, but they're definitely bigger."

"What?" Sasuke said dumbly.

Naruto scratched the back of his head, grinning sheepishly. "You don't have to say anything, if you don't want to. But I -uh- was talking to one of the teachers, and they said that the Oxbridge letters are out..." He gnawed his lip, glancing at Sasuke uncertainly. "You didn't say anything but..."

"That's what you wanted to ask about?" Sasuke frowned, perplexed.

"Er, yeah." Naruto laughed nervously.

"Not Miss Haruno's breasts," Sasuke asked, clarifying.

"No. Not those."

"Oh."

"Yeah...So did you?"

"I got an offer," Sasuke said, finally catching up with the conversation, only to be blindsided when Naruto tackled him, throwing them both onto the bed.

Naruto was saying something, it took Sasuke a few moments to understand it, as he tried to free his face from the duvet. "-knew it, there was no way- ..so smart, obviously, this is so awesome- should celebrate-"

"Mmrrrph," said Sasuke into the duvet. The eye that wasn't pressed against the bed saw Naruto's eyes widen guiltily as he scrambled back a little and pulled Sasuke around so that he was no longer in danger of suffocating.

"Ehehe, sorry! You're okay, right?" He peered at Sasuke from underneath messy hair, apparently looking for some form of wound.

"F-fine," Sasuke said, wriggling a little to get slightly more comfortable. Naruto had propped himself up on his arms and as such as no longer crushing him. Typically, he was utterly disregarding Sasuke's personal space. What kind of boy _jumped_ on another one outside of competitive sport? "That was unnecessary."

"Wow, I'm so excited for you. You're going to fit in so perfectly with all the other geeks at Oxford," Naruto said gleefully, oblivious to Sasuke's discomfort.

"I haven't gotten in yet, I still need to get straight As in June," Sasuke said. From his position, he could see that Naruto hadn't managed to shave under his jaw properly, and that he had weirdly long eyelashes.

"You'll get them," Naruto said, nodding absently. He glanced down, looking a bit wistful. "I guess we wont see each other much next year then. You'll be locked up in the library constantly."

"It's not like your gap year will give you that much time for socialising. Aren't you supposed to be wrestling sharks and digging wells?"

"I wish you could come with me," Naruto said abruptly, his voice oddly serious. Sasuke opened his mouth and then closed it again, before Naruto shook his head, a tight smile on his lips. "But I don't really think you're the shark-wrestling type."  
"Probably not," Sasuke agreed, watching Naruto swallow. He smelt like cheap cologne and baby powder. "Are you going to get off me?"

"Huh?" Naruto glanced down, having somehow forgotten their position. "Oh, right, yeah. Sorry." He stood up, pulling Sasuke with him, hand lingering on his arm for a second before letting go. "It's really awesome that you got in."

"Haven't got the grades yet," Sasuke pointed out again.

"Right, yeah, but you will," Naruto said. "Oh, so I was thinking I should probably let you study in prep, instead of making you play noughts and crosses. That's why I didn't sit with you today, if you were wondering."

"I wasn't," Sasuke said. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Of course not."

"But you don't need to sit somewhere else," Sasuke said, acting unconcerned. "Beating you at noughts and crosses is really not that distracting."

"You're a jerk, you know that?" Naruto said. "Come on, let's go to dinner early, I think there's gonna be cake."

Sasuke sighed.

* * *

**AN: **omg, I asked one of my friends, and apparently I have to delete the ***s and then add them back in and it'll work! here's to hoping! If not I am going to complain to everyone on skype. Yes formatting. You better believe that's a threat.

**AN2: **oh whatever. stupid lines it is.

Thanks for the reviews and alerts. I thought I was sneaky like a ninja and no one knew my lj in relation to my stuff. But alas, I was wrong. I am as sneaky as a cup of tea.


	5. February

**Seldom Woods**

_February_

When the minute hand passed three, made its way steadily down to four, and continued to five without Naruto knocking on his door, Sasuke realised he was becoming conditioned. It was an appalling way to live, he decided. He was being conditioned by a blond idiot who had squirmed his way into Sasuke's life for no real reason, and refused to _leave_ Sasuke's life regardless of insults and occasional violence. A blond idiot, who despite doing A2 maths, couldn't do long division. A blond idiot, who wrote up Sasuke's paleness as his being _albino_.

Sasuke's stomach rumbling jolted him out of his dismayed reverie, to find that the minute hand had progressed to six, Naruto hadn't knocked on his door, and he was hungry. In the past, skipping dinner hadn't been too rare an occurrence. Sometimes he was busy. Sometimes he just didn't feel like putting up with the noise. Most of the time he had a pack of digestives he was munching on and by the time he got hungry enough to want to do something about it, dinner had stopped being served. Conversely, Naruto saw it as a crime to not eat dinner, every day, as soon as he possibly could. Taking second servings was considered the highest form of appreciation and Naruto never failed to appreciate. As the collateral damage of this belief, Sasuke always found himself dragged along, and now his body had betrayed him by demanding the meal it had become accustomed to, at the time it had become accustomed to.

Once, Itachi had said something to Sasuke about Pavlov's dog. A long, long time ago, when Itachi had just started university, and Sasuke didn't wish he was an only child. The narrative Itachi gave him had been extremely watered down, Sasuke found years later when he looked it up on Wikipedia. Still, it was Itachi's child-friendly version that swam into his mind now. He, Sasuke, was the dog, and Naruto was the crazy scientist who didn't have a clue what he was doing. Soon Sasuke thought he might find his salivary gland had been cut out and repositioned outside his body.

By the time the minute hand progressed to seven, Sasuke decided enough was enough, closed the textbook he had been staring at, and headed out of his room.

The hallway was deserted, with most of the students being at dinner already. Sasuke walked the few metres to Naruto's room and knocked on the door. Earlier that day Naruto had gone to football practice, but it should have been finished in time for dinner. "Oi, idiot, open up."

Expecting the door to be flung open and Naruto to burst out, already halfway through a sentence, and drag him to eat, Sasuke waited for a second. His stomach rumbled. He knocked again, harder this time. "Naruto."

There was no sound for another moment, and Sasuke considered that perhaps Naruto wasn't in there. Maybe he'd locked himself in the gym bathrooms; the fourth cubicle's door did stick. Or perhaps he was chatting up Miss Haruno once again. He was about to leave, when he heard a slight movement inside, courtesy of the cardboard thin walls. "You're not very stealthy. I can hear you. Come out, I'm starving."

"Sasuke?" He rolled his eyes as he heard Naruto's voice.

"Yes, very good, it's me. Let's go." Sasuke fiddled with his room key in his pocket.

"I...can't." Naruto's voice sounded thicker than usual. "I'm...sick."

"Are you now?" Sasuke sighed, wondering why he had to play these stupid games. He considered just going down to eat on his own.

"Yup. Really sick. Throwing up all over the place." There was a pause. "Bleeeeeuuurgh."

It took a second for Sasuke to realise that Naruto considered that an impression of himself vomiting. It was clear to Sasuke the Naruto rarely threw up, if that was the best impression he could do.

"Don't be stupid," Sasuke said, glancing up and down the corridor to see if anyone else was witnessing his idiotic conversation. "You're clearly not sick. Why aren't you coming out?" As he said it, it struck Sasuke as strange that Naruto hadn't opened the door in the first place. Clearly he was lying, but normally if he wanted to wind Sasuke up, he'd do it to his face.

"No, I'm really, really sick." There was a shuffling in the room. "Bleurrrgh bleeuuuuurgh bleeeeeeeeeeeeeugghh. Oh yuck it's gross."

Sasuke struggled not to laugh. Many things Naruto might be, but a convincing liar was not one of them. "You're a moron," he said.

"Sasuke..." Naruto seemed torn. "Just...go down without me. I'm not feeling so great. I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

Hesitating for a second, Sasuke frowned. "Alright..." he said, staring at the door, willing his eyes to see through the wood into the room to reveal whatever Naruto was hiding. "Bye then."

"Bye!" Naruto called through the door, a little too hastily.

Thoughts of dinner forgotten, Sasuke returned to his room and sat on his bed, thinking for a moment. He went to the window and opened it, flinching as the cold wind swept into the room, but looked out, noticing properly for the first time the ledge Naruto had once described to him. Leaning out, he saw it was about thirty centimetres wide, and went straight along the wall. It was dry, spotted with moss and lichen, but when Sasuke reached a hand out, it was freezing cold, making him hiss and withdraw. Had Naruto really crawled along this?

For a moment, Sasuke considered just going down to dinner on his own now. There would probably be a little left, he could grab something and bring it back to his room and leave Naruto to sort out whatever was bothering him. Naruto was fine, he was always fine, and Sasuke would see him in class the next day. Even while reasoning with himself, Sasuke was pushing the window open wider, standing on his bed to make it easier to get out. Before he could over-think it, Sasuke took a deep breath and crawled out of his window, onto the ledge. The chill froze his hands and passed straight through the thin material of his trousers as the full effect of the cold took hold. It was dark, which was probably a good thing because it meant Sasuke couldn't see how far away the ground was. Rationally, he knew that if he fell, he'd possibly break a bone, but was unlikely to suffer more than that.

Ignoring the cold, he pulled himself up and hugging the side of the building, feeling absurd. He hoped that no one opened their window and looked out, because there was no way he could explain this without sounding insane. Inching along the ledge, sticking as close to the wall as possible so as not to get buffeted by the wind, he made his way along. Thankfully most of the students were at dinner, so their rooms were empty and he didn't have to worry about being seen.

He counted the windows until he got to Naruto's, where he crouched down, fingers gripping the bricks as well as he could. Predictably the curtains were open, allowing Sasuke an uninhibited view of the small room.

The room was empty, but as he watched the bathroom door opened and Naruto walked out. The main light was off, but the desk light and bathroom light were on, throwing the majority of the room into shadow. Naruto grabbed his dressing gown, a ratty green toweling one that Sasuke had complained about on numerous occasions, and put it on over the boxers and t-shirt he was wearing. He was moving oddly, slightly stiffly which Sasuke attributed to football practice.

At his desk, Naruto glanced at a textbook that was open, then flipped it shut. The light was too poor for Sasuke to make out any expression or detail, but from what he could see, Naruto seemed fine. Sasuke watched as he riffled through his pockets, pulling out a squashed bar of chocolate which he proceeded to eat. Halfway through a bite, he glanced around his room. For a moment, Sasuke thought he had been discovered, but then Naruto picked up a can of soft drink from his bedside table and held it to his cheek, munching happily on the chocolate.

Sasuke decided it was time to make his presence known. Straightening, he knocked on the window, feeling gratified when Naruto dropped both the chocolate and the can and jumped to face the window, hands held out infront of him in a karate-style pose.

Upon recognising Sasuke he started, then squinted, taking a few hesitant steps forward. Sasuke waited patiently for Naruto to open the window, then slid through, landing on the floor lightly.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, eyes wide.

"No, the ghost of Christmas past," Sasuke said, closing the window behind him and shivering slightly, trying to warm up. "What the hell?"

"Uh, you just climbed into my room through the window." Naruto still seemed shocked by this. "Shouldn't I be asking that?"

Ruffling up the back of his hair and resisting the urge to sit down with his back to the radiator, Sasuke glared. "And _you_ told me you were sick. Very sick. 'Throwing up all over the place' sick." Sasuke gave him a glance over. "I have to say, your recovery was remarkable." The yellow light spilling in from the bathroom prevented his night vision from improving, so only the most obvious details were apparent, but Sasuke didn't see anything that would suggest Naruto was unwell.

"Oh. Yeah." Naruto looked to the side for a minute, scratching at the back of his neck. "I...guess I recovered!" He laughed. "Yup. I feel a lot better now."

"So let's go down to dinner," Sasuke said, putting his hands in his pockets and waiting to see what Naruto would do.

"Dinner?" For possibly the first time in their friendship, Naruto spoke about food with fear edging his tone. "Wont that be finished by now?"

"We can still pick something up," Sasuke said with a shrug, eyes narrowed. "Or you could just tell me what's going on. I'm not in the mood to indulge your total inability to lie convincingly."

Naruto seemed to mull things over for a second before sighing. "Fine," he said, turning and moving towards the door where he switched the main light on, making Sasuke blink at the sudden intensity.

It took a few seconds for his vision to return, but when it did, Naruto was smiling sheepishly. "I don't suppose you'll believe I walked into a door?"

Naruto's right cheekbone was red and swollen, the area under his eye had a purple tint to it and there was a small cut on his lip that stretched with his smile.

"Not a chance," Sasuke said already standing in front of him. He lifted Naruto's chin gently with two fingers, trying to assess the damage without hurting him. "Who?"

Apparently having decided to tell the truth, Naruto scrunched up his face, then winced at the movement. "I found some guys picking on this year seven round the back of the sports hall."

Using two fingers to probe the damage to his cheek, Sasuke scowled. "Names."

Stepping back, Naruto withdrew slightly, letting Sasuke's hands fall away and making a disregarding motion. "It's not a big deal. They were just trying to look good in front of their friends. As soon as they realised I'd fight back they legged it. I did get a couple of good punches in though." Naruto looked smug at the thought.

"You look awful," Sasuke said as Naruto walked past him and knelt down to pick up his can of Coke and chocolate bar.

"I'll be fine," Naruto said, blowing a bit of dust off his chocolate and taking a bite, can pressed against his cheek again. "I'm a fast healer." From the amount of sports related injuries Naruto had accumulated and recovered from over the past few months, Sasuke believed him, but was far from appeased.

"Are you going to report them?" he asked, watching as Naruto sat down on his bed, bare feet hanging off the edge as he adjusted his dressing gown slightly.

"What? No way! They're just losers. It was only a tiny fight," Naruto said.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, looks like it," he said, taking a few steps closer to the bed so that the full effect of his glare could be felt.

"It's really nothing, Sasuke," Naruto continued in an aggravatingly calm voice. "I'm always getting into fights, I'm actually surprised it's taken so long for me to get into one here."

"Shouldn't you go see the nurse or something?" Sasuke watched as Naruto moved his clothes to poke tentatively at his side, a contemplative expression on his face.

"Naaaah." Naruto pulled his top down, apparently satisfied that he hadn't done himself any permanent damage. "Chill! It's fine." He apparently noted that Sasuke looked murderous, rather than chilled out, and gave a little put upon sigh before patting the bed. "Come. Sit. Relaaaax."

Grudgingly, Sasuke sat down finding it difficult to look at Naruto's face without wanting do to something rash. "I can't believe you're taking this so lightly."

"It's no big deal." Naruto shrugged, taking another bite of his chocolate, making the purple wrapper crinkle. "Want some chocolate?" He reached into the pocket of his dressing gown and brought out another bar, slightly squashed looking, and offered it to Sasuke.

"I'm okay, thanks," Sasuke said gruffly, ignoring the way Naruto shrugged and started unwrapping the second bar himself, obviously intent on eating two at the same time. "What was the fight about?"

"I dunno," Naruto said with his mouth full. "I think they wanted the kid's money or something. Something stupid."

"And you just had to step in?" Sasuke asked. Through Naruto's extra thick duvet, he could feel something digging into him.

"Yes I 'just had to step in,'" Naruto said, his voice heated. "I'm not the kind of person that sits back and watches when someone else's getting hurt."

"But now _you've_ gotten hurt," Sasuke said.

Naruto opened his mouth, no doubt to downplay his injury, when there was a short beep followed by a little tune. "Just a sec, I have a message." He shuffled over to the head side of the bed and retrieved his phone from the bedside table, flipping it open and checking it, then grinning. "It's from Hinata."

"You're not going to reply?" Sasuke asked as Naruto flipped his phone shut and resumed his original position, patting the sheets to locate his second chocolate bar.

"Nah, I'll do it later," Naruto said. "You're here now."

"I didn't realise you and Hinata were still in contact," Sasuke said. He had seen Naruto use his phone from time to time, but had assumed the idiot was just playing Snake.

"Don't you text Ino?" Naruto seemed surprised. Sasuke shrugged.

"Not really. She's not really my type."

His answer seemed to confuse Naruto even more."Not your type?" He scrunched up his nose. "She's cute, she's stacked and she's into you. How can that not be your type?"

"I just don't like her that much," Sasuke said, feeling a little exposed. "Why does it matter? It's not like I'm ever going to see her again anyway."

"Not with that attitude," Naruto said. Having finished his chocolate, he picked up the can of Coke and pressed it gently against his cheek again.

"Whatever." Sasuke sank down in the bed a little, glaring at the nodding dog Naruto had on the shelf above his desk.

"Hey." Naruto poked him, watching carefully as he did so, like a scientist looking for a reaction. "What's up?"

"What?" asked Sasuke, leaning away from the finger and feeling irritable. "Nothing."

"Something is," Naruto said, pulling his hand back and observing Sasuke. "You've gone all tense. You were fine a minute ago."

"I'm not tense." Sasuke made a conscious effort to relax, earning a raised eyebrow from Naruto.

"Sure," he said slowly, stretching the word. He opened his mouth as if to speak, then frowned, closing it but continuing to stare at Sasuke intently.

Feeling as though a powerful torch was being shone on him, Sasuke shifted, feeling his leg press against something under the duvet again. "Why don't you ever make your bed?" He sat up on his knees and bunched up the duvet trying to find what he was sitting on.

"What's the point of making my bed?" Naruto asked his chocolate bar. "I'll only mess it up again in a few hours."

"You're extremely stupid," Sasuke said, twisting his arm under the duvet until his hand brushed up against something soft. Grabbing it, he pulled it out and stared. "What the hell is this?"

"Hey, don't say it like that!" Naruto grabbed the soft toy and cradled it to his chest, managing to smush chocolate against his dressing gown in the process. "He's got a name!"

Sasuke stared at the pale blue teddy bear Naruto had clutched against his body, its beady black eyes looking back at him impassively. "And what's that?"

Head tucked down, Naruto mumbled something into faded blue fuzz of the bear's fur.

"Sorry, didn't quite catch that," Sasuke said, bemused.

"Super Nooto."

A momentous effort was necessary to quell the hysterical laughter that bubbled up Sasuke's throat. "...Super...Nooto."

"I've had him for a long time, okay!" Naruto, suddenly on the offensive, had leaned forward to shout into Sasuke's face. "He's a super bear!"

Wincing at the volume, and leaning back, Sasuke plucked 'Super Nooto' out of Naruto's grasp and held him out for inspection. "He doesn't seem very super to me."

"He is too. And he's the first cuddly toy I ever had. So he's super." Naruto scowled as Sasuke flopped Sooper Nooto's head backwards and forwards, extending a finger to poke at a frayed ear. "Hey, stop that."

Ignoring him, Sasuke flipped Sooper Nooto upside down and held him by one leg, observing the way the fur on his stomach was worn away. "I can't believe you still sleep with a toy in your bed."

"I can't sleep without him," Naruto said, frowning even more at Sasuke's careless handling. "Be _careful_, he's delicate!"

"He can't be delicate if you squash him every night," Sasuke pointed out. He squinted at the toy, trying to see what Naruto saw in it. As a child, Sasuke had cuddly toys, but he had grown out of them and never been as attached as Naruto seemed to be.

"He's old!" Naruto, having exhausted his patience, reached out to snatch Sooper Nooto back, only to have Sasuke move him to the side, out of reach. "Hey!"

"Be quiet, idiot." Sasuke shifted, leaning away from Naruto in order to keep the bear from him. "What's your problem?"

"I just don't want you damaging him!" Naruto got up on his knees, stretching across to try and grab the toy. "Will you- um..."

Focused on keeping the toy out of Naruto's grasp, Sasuke was momentarily confused when Naruto froze, stopping his attempt to get it back. "What?" Sasuke paused, arm outstretched to create a maximum distance between Naruto and his goal, and glanced back.

His vision was immediately obscured by a face full of Naruto's hair and he tilted his head back, blowing out through his mouth. "What the hell? Too close idiot, it's just a bear." Irritated, Sasuke tried to lean into the wall and moving his arm back so that Sooper Nooto was sitting on the bed.

Naruto still hadn't moved, was still too close and extremely in the way. "Hey-" Sasuke stopped, trailing off as he looked at Naruto properly, noticing the blush on his cheeks, the intense, confused look in his eyes, and the way his breathing had sped up. Frowning, Sasuke again tried to move back, but found himself trapped between Naruto and the wall.

"Sasuke," Naruto said. He was frowning too, mouth twisted to one side. Sasuke waited for him to finish the sentence but he said nothing, acted as though he hadn't spoken in the first place.

And then, just as Sasuke was reaching the edge of his patience, when the twisting in his stomach was becoming too uncomfortable, when his own breathing had quickened to the point it could no longer be ignored-

Naruto leaned in.

Just slightly. By an inch, maybe less. He leaned forward, into the small space between them, and tilted his head, eyes darting up to meet Sasuke's wide ones as he paused for just a moment before-

Sasuke shoved Naruto back and scrambled to his feet, taking deep, gasping breaths like he had just broken the surface after being underwater. Still on the bed, looking winded, Naruto stared at him, mouths slightly open, his expression conflicted. _Shit, why did he-.'_ Right then, Sasuke wanted to pause. He wanted to stop and take a deep breath and sit down and talk about what just happened- what didn't happen – because nothing happened, make Naruto regain a fraction of his usual confidence and reason himself into believing that there was nothing wrong. But- "I have to go."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Sasuke realised that he wanted nothing more than to be alone, in his room and very much _away_ from here.

Naruto didn't move. Sasuke left.

* * *

Apparently, Sasuke had been on the verge of getting sick, and his jaunt outside coupled with the subsequent shock and stress tipped him over the edge. On Wednesday morning he woke up with a blocked nose, temperature, and the feeling that his head was being pressed between two rocks.

Regardless, he shut off his alarm (sighing in pleasure as the drilling pressure on his temples subsided marginally) and got ready for the day. Breakfast made him nauseous, and he could hardly go ten seconds without needing to use one of the ultra soft travel pack tissues, so he choked down a bread roll and headed to his first class, physics, only to have the teacher take one look at him and send him off to the San.

Although Sasuke's bout of the flu was unlikely to be infectious, even students with minor illnesses were sent to the San, since it provided a quiet and serene place to recuperate, rather than the dorm block where if one person on the first floor sneezed, everyone up to the third floor heard it.

Usually, Sasuke would protest at missing class since he hated having to catch up, but with the pressure on his head threatening to cause brain damage, he obediently reported to the Sanatorium and two hours after he had woken up, found himself tucked into bed with the school nurse promising to check on him in a few hours.

The San had private rooms that were slightly larger than the dorms, containing a single bed with a desk next to it, a chair for visitors, and little else. Televisions and radios were not allowed, because the nurse believed they prevented students from relaxing and allowing their bodies to heal. Sasuke's room had a window that was covered with blue curtains. The bedsheets were blue and white, and walls were white, and the carpet was blue. Everything matched and nothing was out of place.

The organisation soothed Sasuke's mind and he fell asleep immediately.

He awoke at sunset, the red light seeping in through a crack in the curtains. The rest of the room was dark and the pillow felt cool against his cheek. When he swallowed, his throat felt rough and he nearly choked as he propped himself up. His vision swam slightly, but cleared as he sat still. Taking a few deep breaths he noticed there was a jug of water on the bedside table and he poured himself a glass, drinking greedily.

The tiny exertion had tired him, and after putting the glass back down with a shaky hand, he flopped back into bed, breathing through his mouth and staring at the ceiling without seeing. His entire body ached. He rolled onto his side and closed his eyes, letting his mind seep into oblivion.

He dreamt of Itachi, of how the latest book he was reading might end if the main character died, and of forgetting his chemistry homework. The last dream he had was of Naruto sleeping in the forest, but the image was fragmented, the colours warped, and by the time he awoke it had dispersed, like autumn leaves on the wind.

Naruto visited twice while Sasuke was in the San. After the first day, Sasuke only slept fitfully, tossing and turning, managing to fall off to sleep only a few minutes before his next meal would arrive and wake him. Both times Naruto visited, Sasuke pretended to be asleep. Both times Naruto left quickly.

By Saturday morning Sasuke felt better, and the nurse was ready to send him back to his dorm, but he claimed that he still felt dizzy and since he wasn't missing any school, she shrugged and let him stay a day longer.

It wasn't that he was avoiding Naruto. He just wasn't ready to deal with him. Sasuke hadn't even started to seriously consider what had happened that night, what might have happened if he hadn't stopped them. What he almost let happen. Everytime his mind strayed near the danger zone he pulled it back and forced himself to concentrate on equations and graphs until his brain was exhausted and he could fall asleep. But still, unbidden, thoughts of Naruto came to him. Naruto playing football and glancing up at the stands to see if Sasuke was watching. Naruto finishing his dessert in record time and then leaning over to take Sasuke's portion. Naruto gnawing on his pencil and staring out of the window. For the most part, Sasuke didn't remember his dreams, but he could make an educated guess of their dominating theme.

On Sunday afternoon, bored out of his mind and hungry, Sasuke slipped out of his room in the hopes of finding something to eat. He had seen a fruit bowl somewhere, and the sandwich he'd opted for at lunch had done little to assuage his appetite. He absently considered that Naruto's humongous appetite was having an effect on him as he padded through the hallways. The San was a small building, but Sasuke was rarely in it, and aside from getting to his room and to the bathroom, he wasn't able to navigate it particularly well.

The school nurse was nowhere to be seen, nor was the mythical fruit bowl, so Sasuke just went to the bathroom and stared at his horribly pasty and generally sick-looking reflection for a bit, and tried not to wince at the state of his bed hair.

Walking back to his room Sasuke slowed down as he heard muffled voices, wondering if anyone he knew was ill. The voices came from a partially opened door in front of him, and he paused, before carrying on, brushing if off inconsequential, before stumbling back as the door suddenly opened and made enthusiastic acquaintance with his nose.

"Oh, Sasuke, I'm so sorry!"

Sasuke blinked, cupping his nose and trying to think through the throbbing pain. "It's fine," he mumbled, his voice strained as he wondered why the fates hated him. There were only two people in the entire school, in the entire world, probably, that he wouldn't want to see him looking like death warmed up.

"_Even Naruto would be better,_" he thought internally.

Externally he forced a smile as the school nurse, having heard the noise, joined them in the hallway. "Alright Uchiha?" she asked, and nodded at them both before leaving when Sasuke gave the affirmative.

Having regained a small portion of his dignity, Sasuke turned back to the doorway. "Are you unwell, Miss Haruno?" he asked, wondering why she was in the San.

"Oh," Miss Haruno said, as though just remembering that she had been talking to the school nurse. "No, I'm fine thank you. Just picking up some medication."

Sasuke managed to catch himself before asking what medication, remembering that women had all sorts of weird problems with their bodies that they presumably took medication for, and he didn't want to discuss those at all. He settled for nodding. "But what about you, Sasuke? I heard you were sick."

"Just a little," Sasuke said, wishing he had closed his dressing gown, wanting to do it now to hide his sleeping clothes even if it would make him look foolish. Why, he wondered, hadn't he worn that plaid pajamas set he had at the back of his wardrobe that Naruto had laughed at, instead of his usual teeshirt and boxers? "I'm much better now."

"That's excellent news." Along with a pale pink lipstick and a matching cardigan, Miss Haruno wore a traditional white shirt, a knee length, slightly flared grey skirt, and a pearl necklace. "Naruto and I were worried, you're all the poor boy can talk about." Apparently seized by an amusing thought, Miss Haruno favoured Sasuke with a soft smile. "He'll be so happy to hear you're better."

Sasuke didn't really know what to say to that at all, so said nothing and stared at the space between his bare feet (why hadn't he worn slippers? Probably because Naruto laughed at those too) and Miss Haruno's heels. They matched her cardigan.

"I'd better be getting back." Miss Haruno was either oblivious to Sasuke's discomfort or skilled enough from years working in an all-boys boarding school to know when to use faked ignorance to make a tactful exit. "Pop along to see me tomorrow, I've got a new batch in and I want your opinion."

"I will, bye," Sasuke said, giving her a brief smile as she walked away, heels clicking against the floor.

Dragging himself back to his bed, Sasuke wondered if it wouldn't be nicer replace Naruto with Miss Haruno. He was sure her life was be peaceful and colour-co-ordinated. Whereas Naruto was loud and obnoxious and _always there_.

As he packed up his few possessions, deciding to finish the water in the jug which always refilled itself while he was asleep, Sasuke wondered when the decision to have Naruto in his life had been taken out of his hands, and wasn't there some higher authority he could talk to about it?

* * *

Further Maths was cancelled on Monday and for a few hours Sasuke really thought that he could perhaps get through the rest of the year without seeing Naruto. Not _avoiding him_ exactly, just making sure through some minor adjustments in his schedule that he and Naruto were never in close proximity alone. Or in public. He had been too lenient recently, Sasuke realised. Naruto's continual whining had worn him down and an event like _the one that had nearly occurred but had definitely _not_ actually occurred and as such would never be mentioned or thought of in any detail_ was the result of such leniency.

On the back of a photocopied problems sheet, Sasuke sketched out a few ways in which he could avoid Naruto, such as taking alternative routes to classes and never opening his bedroom after Prep. It might be challenging at first, but when had Sasuke failed to rise up to a challenge? And he could have his nice, quiet and _safe_ life back. No more being kidnapped, no learning pragmatically about Naruto's life and the facets that lay beneath the indomitable surface. And no thrill of fear that froze his muscles and made him hypersensitive to the gentlest of stimuli when he thought about the look in Naruto's eyes as he leaned closer and dipped his head _just so_.

Then, he turned the problems sheet over to work through the badly copied questions and he remembered that it was Monday, and he was supposed to tutor Naruto that evening.

* * *

Sasuke deliberated throughout his free period, physics class and then the spare hour he had in his room, before deciding to go to the library. Typically, whenever a lesson was cancelled Naruto emerged from out of nowhere and insisted they hung out. Since Naruto had done no such thing today, in fact Sasuke hadn't seen Naruto at all (although how much that had to do with Sasuke skipping lunch and hiding in his room for as much of the day as possible was undetermined) so he was confident that _Naruto_ was avoiding him. Content with that, Sasuke saw no need to mar his perfect record, and didn't want Miss Haruno to think he was skipping on the off chance that Naruto appeared- which he wouldn't.

Except that when Sasuke got to the library -on time, rather than early because of all the deliberating- Naruto was casually leaning against the counter and talking to Miss Haruno, a wide, conspirator's smile stretched across his face. Miss Haruno had a hand up to her mouth, hiding her smile, eyes bright with merriment. They were speaking in low voices, as Sasuke watched Naruto said something and Miss Haruno shook her head good-naturedly, replying to him.

Suddenly, irrationally, Sasuke thought they were talking about him.

Likely, Sasuke would have stayed in the entryway of the library, watching Naruto talk to Miss Haruno for some time, unable to think of a sensible way to make his presence known that wouldn't seem sulky and childish. Fortunately Miss Haruno glanced towards him and beckoned him over, prompting a controlled walk to the two of them. As he walked, Sasuke kept his eyes on Naruto's face, noting the change in expression to surprise, and then smoothed-over happiness. "Sasuke!"

For the umpteenth time, Miss Haruno scolded Naruto for raising his voice in the library. He grinned and apologised, looking sufficiently ashamed as Sasuke reached them.

"Hey," he said, nodding at Miss Haruno who smiled back at him.

"Hullo Sasuke," she said, scanning a pile of books absently. "I'm glad to see that you're better."

At the memory, Sasuke felt his cheeks flush and hoped that Naruto didn't notice. "Thanks."

"It's good that you're back with us, isn't it?" The latter was directed at Naruto, who blinked and gave her a questioning look.

"Why are you looking at me!" He glanced from Sasuke to Miss Haruno, as though having been accused. "I didn't do anything!"

"I didn't say you did." Miss Haruno finished scanning the last book and raised her eyebrows at them. "Shouldn't you two be studying?"

"Right!" Naruto saluted her and glanced at Sasuke, gesturing for them to move to their usual table. Sasuke slid his books onto the table awkwardly, watching as Naruto sat down. "So maths was cancelled today! How awesome was that? I got the PS2 in the common room all to myself!"

"You're supposed to do independent study when a class gets cancelled," Sasuke said, thrown by Naruto's casual attitude. There was no trepidation or fear that Sasuke had anticipated. "There were problems sheets on the desk."

"I didn't see any." Naruto frowned. "Are you sure?"

"They were right there." Sasuke didn't know whether to be bemused, confused or disturbed by Naruto's behaviour. Had he dreamt the whole thing? Had it been the result of a feverish pre-sickness nightmare?

Naruto considered it for a second. "Nope, didn't see them."

"You're blind," Sasuke said, the insults automatic.

"I am _not_." Naruto folded his arms across his chest, the woollen jumper he wore stretching with the movement. "You're just jealous that I'm going to get better at Tomb Raider than you are and I wont do joint missions with you anymore."

"Why would anyone be jealous of that?" Sasuke rarely played Tomb Raider, largely because he wasn't as enthralled by Lara Croft in hot pants as his peers, but was still as good as Naruto who frequently got _lost_ and had to consult the online guides.

They continued to squabble, indulging in a playful back and forth as Sasuke explained what he wanted Naruto to work on and left him to it, pulling out some of his own work in the meantime.

After five minutes of silence, Sasuke glanced up to check on Naruto's progress and saw that Naruto, rather than studying or making faces at Miss Haruno, was looking at _him_.

He didn't look angry or curious. He was just looking. For a second, Sasuke considered that Naruto was looking _through_ him and had fallen into a daydream but he seemed focussed, the slightest frown between his eyebrows.

"What?" Sasuke watched as Naruto blinked, then grinned, shrugging. He looked back down and Sasuke waited for him to reply.

And waited.

And waited.

And watched as Naruto picked up his pencil and resumed studying.

After a few minutes, during which he lost a fight with a mechanical pencil and littered the desk with fragments of lead Naruto dropped his pencil and stretched up. "Done!"

Sasuke dragged the pad of A4 over to his side, scowling as he saw all the doodles Naruto had illustrated his page with, although several had been scribbled out with deep, vicious strokes. Checking the answers against his own, Sasuke nodded and looked up to congratulate Naruto on getting the questions right.

And found Naruto was staring at him again.

What, Sasuke wondered, was so interesting? There wasn't anything on his face, because Naruto would have pointed that out with a lot of laughter as soon as he came in. Since Naruto showed no signs of coming around, Sasuke decided he would do some staring too.

....Naruto had some ink on his cheek. And the shelf behind him had a lot of red covers so if Sasuke squinted, he looked as though his hair was on fire.

As though noticing Sasuke was looking at him for the first time, Naruto let a slow grin spread across his face. And didn't look away.

On the other side of the table, feeling like a specimen in a cage, Sasuke felt his cheeks warm, and a gentle _swish_ in his gut.

He should have stuck with his Ignore Naruto plan, Sasuke decided, tutoring be damned.

* * *

"Oi," said Naruto after slinking into class five minutes late and taking his usual seat next to Sasuke, ignoring the disapproving look of their teacher who was dictating notes. "Stop covering your work like that. I can't copy."

Sasuke had _not_ been covering his notes, but decided to keep his hands where they were. "You shouldn't have been late then." He ignored Naruto's sputtering in favour of continuing to jot down the notes in flowing cursive.

"Tosser." Naruto jostled him with his elbow, making the nib of Sasuke's fountain pen catch and splatter blue polka dots across the page.

"You _idiot_." Sasuke dropped his pen and leaned over to rummage in his bag for a scrap of spare blotting paper, dabbing it on his work with a careful hand to avoid further smudging. Complaining to the teacher, although tempting, would be too juvenile, so Sasuke contented himself with shifting further to the side so that Naruto couldn't see any of his notes.

By mid-lesson, their teacher had left on the pretext of getting some water, instructing them to draw graphs, and Naruto informed Sasuke that he was forgiven. "For being a tool."

"Your graph looks like it had a seizure," Sasuke said, drawing a line that bisected his perfectly.

"What do you reckon Miss Haruno's name is?" Naruto stole Sasuke's ruler and took the tangent of his graph, tongue sticking out with concentration.

"Kaede," Sasuke said, scowling and grabbing the ruler back. "Where's your pencil case?"

"Lost it," Naruto said. "Kaede? Really?" He scrunched up his nose. "Why?"

"I don't know. It suits her." Sasuke shifted, wishing he hadn't voiced his opinion. "Lost lost, or lost you put it somewhere in your room and you can't find it?"

"I thought maybe Hana." Naruto took the ruler again. "Lost as in, probably under my bed but I _really_ don't want to go down there."

"That's the worst kind," Sasuke said. "Just buy a new one."

"I can't buy a new one, I've still got it. I just...can't get to it right now. Hey- I'm using that!" Naruto held on to the ruler as Sasuke tried to pull it back.

"It's _mine_," Sasuke said, winning their brief tussle and grinning as he laid it parallel to his page. Seeing the beginnings of a pout on Naruto's features, he sighed, flicking through his pencil case until he unearthed a smaller ruler and passed it to Naruto. "Just use this one."

"You are such a girl." Naruto took the ruler and appraised it with narrowed eyes. "What kind of person carries a spare ruler- Hey, no, I'm keeping it!" He gave Sasuke a wide smile, clasping the ruler to his chest as if it was his new best friend.

"Careful," Sasuke said, watching him hug the piece of stationary. "Super Nooto's gonna get jealous."

For a second, Sasuke wondered at the look on Naruto's face: two parts surprise and one part uncertainty. Then he realised just what he was alluding to- events he had yet to acknowledge in any real way. His smile froze, then slipped off as his mind went blank, cutting off all the background noise of his classmates, and narrowing the world down to the look in Naruto's eyes, and the way he hesitated before opening his mouth to speak-

"Right chaps, I'm back. How are we getting on?" Their teacher sauntered in and tapped on the board with a finger. "Who can tell me the velocity?"

A small bubble of tension that Sasuke hadn't realised he was harbouring broke, and he let out a short breath, busying himself with working through the answer, while another student wrote it out on the board.

The bell rang as they arrived at the answer and the teacher called out their homework while they packed away. "Hana Haruno would be a stupid name," he said.

As Naruto replied, defending his opinion, Sasuke relaxed, falling into their usual flow of conversation, no tension apparent.

But a part of him was still in the maths classroom, staring at Naruto, five seconds before their teacher entered the room and wondering: _What if?_

_

* * *

_

Despite the apparent end to winter that the purple and yellow crocuses spotting the grounds heralded, Sasuke's breath still formed tiny clouds in front of him. The air didn't have the bite that it used to, but it was far too cold to voluntarily stand outside for any length of time.

There was a cry, followed by the piercing blow of a whistle, and the players that were grouped on the pitch broke apart, jogging to different areas, calling to each other. Sasuke watched as Naruto ran up to take a free kick and scored. He did a victory dance that was loosely based on The Robot and would have been more impressive if Sasuke hadn't seen him practising it in front of the mirror in one of the school bathrooms. Once finished, Naruto high-fived one of his friends and saluted Sasuke, before jogging into position to resume play.

Naruto was fairly skilled at football. Though not a sprinter, he was faster than most players and agile, able to deftly guide the ball around the pitch, with a stamina that never seemed to become exhausted. Sasuke flushed, clearing his throat and glancing around at the few spectators standing beside the pitch, steering his mind down a different, safer avenue.

Last period of the day had been Physics, and Sasuke had found an origami frog on his desk guarding a cheerful note from Naruto. The note informed him in barely legible writing that Naruto had some 'amazing, fantastically awesome and cool' news for Sasuke, and to meet him after football practice. Towards the end, Naruto had run out of room and his writing been reduced to squiggles, but Sasuke thought he had the jist of the message.

"Hey, hey Sasuke!" Naruto jogged over, taking a moment to get his breath back once he reached Sasuke, leaning over and bracing his hands on his knees. "Did you see that last pass? How awesome was that?" He twisted his head to the side to watch Sasuke's reaction.

"It was very awesome," Sasuke said, voice devoid of expression but a smile giving him away. "Let's go."

"_And_," said Naruto as they fell into step, heading back to the dorms, "everyone liked my victory dance. You said it was stupid."

"It's still stupid," Sasuke said, then interrupted before Naruto could defend himself. "What's the news you wanted to tell me?"

"Huh?" Naruto frowned at him, then his eyes widened, like a lightbulb switched on, and he grinned. "Oh yeah! Okay, so, you know my uncle?"

"Yeah?" Sasuke grimaced as they walked across a particularly muddy patch of grass, the squelching underfoot letting him know his trainers were getting coated.

"He says for half-term, we're gonna go to London!" Naruto beamed at him. "Isn't that cool?"

"Yeah, I guess," Sasuke said. "I didn't realise it was already nearly half-term. That means we've only got about fourteen weeks until the summer exams."

Naruto squinted at him, mouth slack. "You are so uncool it _hurts_." They reached the dorms and Naruto sat on the step to take his boots off. After consideration, Sasuke did the same, unlacing his trainers. "Don't you think it'd be cool? We could even meet up with Ino and Hinata! That'd be wicked, right?"

"Right," Sasuke said, standing and waiting for Naruto to finish struggling with his knotted laces.

"I don't know everything yet, because my uncle was kinda wasted when he was telling me, but I wont let him get out of it!"

"He was drunk?"

"Yeah, he got lost and I had to spend the night on Googlemaps trying to get him back to his hotel. He's unbelievable." Naruto gave up on the knots and just pulled his football boots off, shaking them so that the dried mud flaked off. "It's going to be so good. I've always wanted to go to London, because it's the capital, you know? And it's got all that stuff!"

"Yeah. We don't have any of 'that stuff' here," Sasuke said.

"-Like the Tower of London, and those red buses,and I could buy one of those hats!" Naruto gazed into middle distance, doubtlessly picturing himself wearing a novelty London hat. He elbowed Sasuke. "Aren't you excited?"

"Why would I be excited about you wearing a stupid hat?" Sasuke dug around in his bag for his keys, grimacing at the frog-shaped keyring that was attached. "Why do you keep putting this back on?"

"I thought you'd like it," Naruto said.

"Yeah, but the last five times I've told you I hate it, taken it off my key and thrown it at you should have been a clue to my true feelings," Sasuke said.

"You're not taking it off this time," Naruto said.

"That's because it seems like a pointless exercise," Sasuke said.

"And that is what I call a success," Naruto said, smiling at the crowd and taking a bow. "So, London. Excited?"

"Yes, fine, whatever you like," Sasuke said, leaning against the doorframe. "I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time."

"What do you mean?" Naruto's eyebrows pulled together. "You've got to come too!"

"What?"

"That's why I'm telling you, you're invited too!"

"To go London? With you? For a week?" Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"Yes! I heard that it's really funny to pretend to be a wax sculpture in Madame Tussauds and see who can get the most tourists to take photos with you!"

Tuning Naruto out, Sasuke could feel the cogs in his brain going into overdrive as he turned the idea over and over in his mind. Going to London together? Alone except for Naruto's uncle who from the sounds of it would be perpetually intoxicated? For a whole week? Why was Naruto asking him? What did he expect to happen? The last thought made a charge run along Sasuke's skin, prickling.

"I can't go." It took Sasuke a second to register Naruto's disappointed look, and understand that he himself had just spoken. "Itachi wants to spend time together in the break."

"What? No way!" Naruto's mouth curled down, his previous excitement gone. "I thought you two were enemies or something?"

Sasuke shrugged, trying to ignore his buzzing nerves. "He called me ages ago to make plans."

"Oh." Naruto looked down, frowning. "That's too bad. It would have been cool if we could go together."

"Yeah," Sasuke said. He listened to Naruto lament for a few moments, before making his excuses and retreating into his room, collapsing against the door as soon as it closed. He sat on the floor, resting his head against his knees and tugging at his hair, wondering if he had done the right thing. After a few minutes of imagining the aborted trip, he stood, walking to his desk and pulling one of the drawers open, retrieving his phone from underneath a jotter.

Sitting on his bed, Sasuke flipped it open and called one of the few numbers in his phonebook. It rang twice before it connected. "Sasuke? What's wrong?" Itachi seemed out of breath.

Sasuke frowned, adjusting the phone slightly and straightening his posture. "Nothing, why would anything be wrong?"

"You never call on Wednesdays." Itachi seemed wary.

"I just wanted to let you know," Sasuke hesitated, before plunging on, "that I don't need to study in half-term afterall."

"You don't?" There was a muffled sound, and Itachi's voice became clearer. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm ahead of schedule," Sasuke said. Itachi said nothing, it sounded like he was walking outside, Sasuke could hear the distant hum of traffic. "So we could do something. Like you wanted to."

"I see." Itachi paused for a moment, covering the phone and saying something. "Did you have anything in mind?"

"I don't care," Sasuke said. "Whatever you want to do."

"Well, do you want to go home? Or we could go to the estate in Somerset. Or Edinburgh is nice at this time of year. Or somewhere abroad. It would be better to stick to Europe, since we only have a week, although I did-"

"Itachi, I don't care," Sasuke said. "Pick anywhere- but not the old house."

"Hmm." There was a faint beeping noise. "Somerset would be convenient since-"

"That's great. Somerset is great. I finish next Friday."

"Very well. I'll see you then."

Sasuke disconnected the call and closed his phone, staring at it for a second before placing it next to him on the bed.

"I don't want to go to London with Naruto." he said. He didn't feel convinced. He tried again. "Naruto will look stupid with that hat."

* * *

"Here's your milk, Sasuke." There was a soft clunk as Miss Haruno put the glass down on the table in front of him. "How's your book?"

"It's very good," Sasuke said, taking a sip of milk, then wiping his milk moustache with the back of his hand.

There was a ding.

"The muffins are done." Miss Haruno swept past him and opened the oven wearing a pink oven glove. "They look good."

"That's great." Sasuke turned a page and watched over the top of his book as Miss Haruno pulled out a tray of fluffy, golden muffins.

"Perfect. I'm so glad they added an oven to the library." Miss Haruno popped one out and turn around to select a plate from the pile on the table. Sasuke noticed the short apron she was wearing had a picture of a cupcake on the front and said 'eat me.'

"That's because your favourite book is Alice in Wonderland," he said. Miss Haruno smiled at him.

"You remembered." Her hair was down, falling over her shoulders in tousled waves.

Sasuke nodded. "Of course." He considered her for a second. "It's a nice apron."

Miss Haruno giggled, covering her mouth with a hand, the other trailing up her thigh to tug on the hem of the apron. "You like it?"

"Yes. It's nice." Sasuke watched, mesmerised, as Miss Haruno raised a hand to push her hair behind her shoulder and adjusted the strap, the black material stark against bare skin.

"Here's your muffin." Miss Haruno laid the plate next to Sasuke's milk, leaning over to do so.

'Naruto was right,' Sasuke thought, watching as she straightened up. 'Definitely bigger.' She kept her back to him as she walked back to the oven, bending down to close it. Sasuke felt his mouth dry at the expanse of skin, and dropped his muffin.

"Sasuke?" Miss Haruno looked concerned. "Are you okay? You look a little pale. Is your milk too warm?" She leaned in again, holding a hand against his forehead, the tips of her hair falling forward to brush against him.

"It's fine." He cleared his throat.

"You feel a little warm." She lifted his glass and took a sip. "It tastes fine to me." A stray drop of milk trickled down the glass and dropped, rolling down the soft slope of her breast until it disappeared out of sight, behind the apron. Miss Haruno noticed Sasuke's gaze and giggled again. "Whoops. I can be so clumsy."

"I do feel a little warm," Sasuke said, standing up. Miss Haruno's lips pulled into a teasing smile and she tossed her hair. "Oh really?"

"Oh man. This muffin is _amazing_." There was a groan of pleasure. Sasuke looked past Miss Haruno to see Naruto holding the baking tray in one hand, a half eaten muffin the other. "Did you cook these?"

"Naruto, what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked.

"I made them," Miss Haruno said, walking over to Naruto and pointing to the muffin. "You see the raisins. I had to add those, you know."

"Wow, wow, you're a great cook," Naruto said, nodding as he chewed. "The raisins are great! I love raisins."

"I'm glad you like raisins," Miss Haruno said, her tone serious. "That's why I added the raisins to the muffins."

"It's good," Naruto said, patting his belly. "Do you have any cake?"

"Hey," said Sasuke, frowning. "Those are my muffins."

"What's wrong, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, eyes wide in confusion. "Your milk too warm?"

* * *

"Good morning Sasuke," Itachi said as he breezed into the kitchen having already had a morning jog, showered and dressed ready for a business meeting he was conducting later.

"Yeah," Sasuke said, making a show of reading the back of the cereal packet. He kicked his bare feet childishly against the bars of the high backed chair he was sitting on, poking his spoon into his bowl to push the cereal around.

"I have a meeting at eleven, but I should be back early afternoon. Is there anything you'd like to do?" Itachi poured himself some orange juice, keeping his back to Sasuke as he looked out at the grounds. Watery sunshine brightened the garden and though the flowerbeds were still empty, the lawn was dotted with crocuses.

"I need to study," Sasuke said, not looking up. He heard Itachi move around the island, shoes tapping against the floorboards.

"I see," Itachi said. "In that case, there's food in the fridge, or you can order something. If you think of something, tell me when we get back."

"'Kay," Sasuke said, watching his cereal get soggier and soggier.

There was the noise the fridge opening as Itachi replaced the juice. "Sasuke, are you okay to have a cooked breakfast tomorrow? We're out of milk."

Sasuke choked.

* * *

Sasuke sat out on the terrace, watching some sparrows peck at the ground before they were chased away by a magpie. A textbook lay open to his side, but he didn't touch it, leaning back on his arms and closing his eyes, enjoying the quiet. He glanced around the stone pillars that supported the covering, wondering if there hadn't once been a wind chime somewhere.

A breeze swept through the terrace and he shivered, wishing he had thought to put a jacket on but too lazy and content to go inside. A nap sounded promising right now. A glance at his book reminded him that he hadn't done anything productive all day.

"I guess it's not Naruto's fault after all," he said to the wind.

A few more minutes passed, the magpie was chased away by a pair of pigeons that chased each other around the grass before disappearing behind a line of trees. Sasuke yawned, scratched at his chin and rose to his feet, taking the textbook with him

The sun was sinking beneath the trees as he stretched, shivering again. "Another day wasted." Cracking his spine and then sagging down, he walked inside, closing the screen doors behind him. The house was much warmer despite its size, and for a few moments Sasuke seriously considered going to sleep for a while. From the silence that permeated the house, only broken by a few creakings and murmurings, Sasuke surmised that Itachi wasn't home yet.

His aimless trailing from room to room brought him into the parlour and he threw an uninterested look at the tv mounted on the wall, before disregarding it. There was a baby grand piano sitting in the corner. Sasuke approached it, remembering how Itachi used to play when they were younger.

Taking a seat on the black leather stool, he shifted, trying to get comfortable. He lifted the lid after a moment's hesitation, skimming his finger along the white keys before pressing down, relishing the way the deep note echoed through the room. Tapping his fingers on the surface of the keys, he tested out his capabilities with a slow scale, then, emboldened, launched into a speedy rendition of _Chopsticks_.

The final note wavered out and Sasuke pressed a few more keys without any real purpose than to enjoy the sound. A few basic pieces he had memorised many years ago pushed to the forefront of his mind, and he played them, although slowly and with mistakes.

While doing a short improvisation Sasuke thought about looking for some sheet music. He was reveling in the pace and rhythm and beauty of it all, even in such a basic form, when a movement out of the corner of his eye grabbed his attention. Sasuke halted, fumbling the last few keys so they played out jarringly, and glanced at Itachi who was standing in the doorway, watching him intently.

"I didn't know you still played," Itachi said after a long moment. "You told me you quit."

"I did," said Sasuke, dropping his hands from the keys to rest on the stool, fingers curling around the edge and holding it.

"You sounded good," Itachi said, holding himself as still as a statue. "You could restart your lessons if you want."

"I was just messing around." Sasuke felt something tighten in his chest and he reached up to rub at it, before noticing himself and pulling away. "There's no point."

"There is if you enjoy it."

"I don't. It's not- I don't enjoy it," Sasuke said, glaring at the keys and wishing he hadn't sat down in the first place. He jerked to his feet, ignoring the muffled screech as the stool scrapped against the floor, and walked out. As he passed Itachi, his brother's expression changed and for a second, Sasuke thought he might reach out and stop him. But then he passed into the dim hallway and up the stairs.

Late that night, Sasuke thought he heard piano music playing from deep within the house, but by the time he padded to the parlour, the room was empty.

* * *

"I can drive you back now," Itachi said.

Sasuke paused in the middle of drilling his pen into his notebook. "What?"

"If you want to go now. I can drive you." Itachi lowered the newspaper he was reading to face Sasuke.

"I told you I didn't need to go until this evening," Sasuke said, frowning. "We only just had lunch."

"You seem agitated. I thought, perhaps, you were eager to return to school." Itachi folded the paper and laid it on his lap, resting his arms on the leather armrests and crossing his legs.

"Why would I be eager to return to school?" Sasuke asked with a scowl, pulling his leg up onto the sofa and tapping his pen against his knee.

"I wouldn't know," Itachi said mildly.

"Well I'm not, okay?" Sasuke said, trying to focus on the sums in his notebook before glancing over at Itachi. "Why, need to get some work done?"

"No, I told you, I took the last few days off," Itachi said, brushing a speck of dust off his knee.

"Yeah yeah," Sasuke said, groaning as he noticed a mistake in his work and scratching it out with his pen. Irritated, he stared across the room at the empty fireplace and the countryside painting hanging above it, instead of correcting his working.

"If you're sure..."

"I _am_," Sasuke said.

"Very well."

Sasuke was tempted to pick a fight, but shouting at Itachi never made him feel better, since Itachi always kept calm and composed, even when Sasuke was screaming at him. 'Just one more point against him.'

* * *

**AN: **So. I have to address something that was recently brought to my attention. This is a **NarutoxSasuke** story. I'm really sorry to anyone who didn't realise this and I hope it doesn't impair your reading experience. Um. Furthermore, if you have a question, or want to complain, please please please sign in! I can't reply to you otherwise.

So now we've got that out of the way... Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing. I hope you keep enjoying the story and I love hearing from you.

Oh. And yes, I have changed my name. Syrraki. As in, Sarah Tree. What? You didn't know I liked trees? Where have you _been_?


	6. March

**Seldom Woods**

_March_

"I got you a present," was the first thing Naruto said. Sasuke hadn't reached the door, but understood the message.

"I'm not wearing it," he said, unlocking the door and opening it, trying to subdue the smile on his face. Naruto was wearing a large plush top-hat printed with the union jack.

"You didn't even look!" Naruto produced a matching hat from behind his head, holding it out. "I think it'll look good on you!"

"I'm really not going to wear it," Sasuke said, taking it anyway and moving back to let Naruto walk into his room. He suppressed the frisson of excitement that went through him. During the holidays he had forgotten the effect Naruto had on him and the sudden jolt of awareness was dizzying.

"You're mean. I brought you back a present. You didn't bring me anything." Naruto flopped down on Sasuke's bed, then propped himself up to glare at Sasuke.

"You went to London. I was in Somerset. They're not exactly known for their souvenirs."

"You could have got a keyring." Naruto sniffed dramatically, throwing a hand over his eyes. Sasuke noticed that he was carrying a paper bag in his free hand. "I happen to like key-rings."

"I hardly went out," Sasuke said, leaning on his desk. "I was studying."

"Wow, sounds like a blast," Naruto said, shuffling backwards to lean his back against the wall. "How was Itachi?"

Sasuke shrugged, looking out of the window. "Normal. Weird, but that's normal for him."

"Right," Naruto said. "Do anything interesting?"

"Not really. You?"

"I did a lot of sightseeing," Naruto said, laughing a little and adjusting his hat. "The usual stuff. It was really packed, but fun."

Sasuke waited for Naruto to go on, surprised when he stopped. "That's it? You spent a whole week there. You haven't got anything else to say?"

Scratching the back of his head, Naruto glanced to the side before grinning. "I was kinda bummed that you weren't there."

"Oh." Sasuke glanced at the floor, rubbing his toes against the carpet. "Yeah."

"You definitely won't wear the hat?" Naruto looked hopeful and Sasuke almost capitulated.

"No," he said. "It would look absurd."

"Fine." Naruto huffed, grinning to show he wasn't really upset. "I did have a feeling you might not want to wear it." Sasuke watched as he shuffled to the end of the bed, rucking up the duvet as he did so, and grabbed the paper bag he had left there. "So I got you something else as well."

"Hm?" Sasuke watched as Naruto reached into the bag and pulled out a small rounded bottle.

"Tada!" Crumpling the bag, Naruto displayed the bottle to Sasuke, presenting it as though it were expensive wine.

"This is for me?" Sasuke took a few steps forward and grasped the bottle, noting the label and shaking it gently to see the consistency. "Cognac?"

"For both of us," Naruto said. "It's not like you could finish it on your own anyway."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "Naruto, this is forty percent alcohol. I don't think we should finish it even together."

"Why? Uchihas got low tolerance?" Naruto grinned in a way that made something in Sasuke's chest swell, making him release a tight breath.

"Of course not," Sasuke said. "I could drink you under the table."

"Pfft, big talk." Naruto sat back on the bed and after a moment of hesitation, Sasuke followed him, settling to his side but taking care that there was a distance between them. With a little concentration, he unscrewed it and took a sniff. "Um. Interesting."

"You haven't tried it before?" Sasuke watched as Naruto took a curious sip, noticed Sasuke's look and took a larger swig, coughing slightly as he passed the bottle.

"Nope, I've drunk other stuff, but I snagged this from my uncle before he dropped me off." Naruto looked thoughtful, then nodded. "Serves him right for dumping me to chase girls."

"Doesn't taste that great," Sasuke said, grimacing at the aftertaste. A part of him wondered just how wise it was to get drunk with Naruto right now. Another part of him could feel the charge building between them and wanted to throw caution to the wind and see what would happen.

"Eh, it's alcohol. The taste isn't really the point, is it?" Naruto said.

"I suppose not." He suppressed a cough of his own and passed the bottle back; their fingers brushed and Sasuke flinched back, crossing his arms across his chest instead. "So what else did you do in London?"

"I think I saw the Queen," Naruto said, lowering his head to fix Sasuke with a solemn look. "But I couldn't be sure. It might have just been a rich old lady."

"...Right."

"And I went to this really big toy-store, but I forgot my wallet, so I couldn't buy anything, but I wanted to get you this little toy rabbit." Naruto swallowed with care, managing not to choke this time.

"Why would I want a toy rabbit?" Sasuke asked, accepting the bottle that was handed to him. He considered the opening, wondering if he was imagining that it was warm from Naruto's lips.

"I don't know really," Naruto said. "It just reminded me of you."

"Some people would mistake your stupidness for being drunk. But I know better," Sasuke said. "We only just started drinking."

"And yet you just said 'stupidness' which isn't even a real word." Naruto beamed. "That means that you are _already_ drunk."

"I don't think you can get drunk that quickly," Sasuke said, looking at the bottle in case there were instructions.

"I'm not sure either, maybe we should check online?" Naruto said, taking the bottle back from Sasuke.

"Computer's there," Sasuke said, pointing to his laptop. He leaned back, grabbing his pillow to make himself more comfortable and patting it into shape.

"Too far," Naruto said. "Maybe later." Sasuke heard him move, but ignored him in favour of gazing at the clock opposite him. "Did you really just study all holiday?"

"I didn't get that much done," Sasuke said, mentally lamenting his wasted break. "I kept getting distracted." He stretched, relaxed and belatedly noticed that Naruto was sharing his pillow. It didn't bother him as much as he had expected. "I did have this crazy dream though." As soon as he finished, Sasuke pursed his lips together, wishing to take the words back.

"Really? What about? Was I in it?" Naruto seemed far too excited about Sasuke having a dream.

"...You were in it," Sasuke said, taking a long drink to avoid saying anything.

"Well? What happened? What did I do?"

"...I don't really remember," Sasuke said, fixing his eyes on his desk.

"Oh, one of those dreams." Naruto nodded. "I hate that, when you wake up and you can't remember half of it."

"Yeah." If only it had been that kind of a dream, Sasuke thought. The amount of times he had relived it, it was ingrained in his memory.

"I had a crazy dream the other day, actually," Naruto said, breaking the silence that had grown between them. "There was this really big fish, and I think it ate me, or maybe I ate it, I don't remember really. But it was huge. And it had all these teeth!" Naruto moved his hands to demonstrate the size of the fish, his shoulder brushing against Sasuke's and staying there, warm solid and tangible. "Then at the end, I think I was a fish. Or maybe I was _the fish_."

"Wow." Sasuke didn't bother to force enthusiasm into his voice. "Fish."

Glancing at Sasuke, then staring at the bottle cradled in his hands, Naruto moistened his lips. "I saw Ino and Hinata, actually."

"You did?" Sasuke frowned, more to himself than Naruto, wondering how he had forgotten that Naruto had mentioned seeing the girls. "How... were they?"

"Fine." Naruto seemed to be picking his words with care. "They were both fine. Ino could only stay for a bit, but I hung out with Hinata for a while."

An uncomfortable feeling crept over his chest as Sasuke remembered Hinata. Specifically the way Hinata had looked at Naruto. "Did you have a nice time?"

Flicking his eyes from Sasuke, back to the bed, Naruto laughed, the sound forced. "Yeah, you know. Hinata's cool. She didn't talk too much though." Naruto tipped his head back to consult the ceiling. "Maybe I scared her a little."

"Wouldn't be surprised." Sasuke shuffled down the bed, resting his head back and trying to take a drink without sitting up.

"I wasn't scary though," Naruto said. "I was nice. Very nice. Nicer than you." He poked Sasuke in the shoulder."

Sasuke squinted at him. "How nice?"

"The...nicest." Naruto tapped his nose with one finger. "Definitely the nicest."

"That's pretty nice," Sasuke said, sighing as he pulled weakly at his collar, feeling warm. Naruto passed him back the bottle but he shook his head. "No more." He pushed back until his head hit Naruto's thigh. "Move over."

"You move over," Naruto said, but shuffled a little bit so that Sasuke could spread out on the bed, stretching out and watching Naruto through hooded eyes.

"Hey, Naruto..."

"Yeah?" Naruto's eyes were bright, Sasuke thought. And the light was too bright. He let his eyes shut, enjoying the darkness.

"I think I'm drunk."

A chuckle. "Yeah, I think you are." There was a creak and the bed moved slightly. Then Sasuke heard footsteps and the light switched off. "I think I am too."

"Dark is good," Sasuke said into his pillow. "Stuff was strong."

"Tell me about it." The bed depressed with a squeak as Naruto sat back down. "I think if I lit a match and breathed into it, I'd pass as a dragon."

Half-listening, Sasuke turned onto his side so he faced Naruto, but ducked his head down. "Naruto..."

"Yes Sasuke?" It was dark, but Naruto sounded close and comforting.

"I missed you."

A chuckle. "I missed you too."

* * *

When Sasuke awoke, he couldn't see anything and he blinked for a while, confused. Slowly, slowly, he made out the familiar shapes of his room and realised it must be late at night. His stomach gurgled and Sasuke wondered if that was what had woken him up. Naruto was sleeping, having taken some of Sasuke's pillow, and snoring very slightly. His chest was pressed up against Sasuke's side, and his arm was a heavy presence on Sasuke's shoulder. Moving away, Sasuke noted with displeasure the way Naruto seemed to sprawl further across the bed. "Idiot."

Sasuke debated between turning the bathroom light on and blinding himself, and leaving the door open and risk Naruto waking up, finally settling on the former. He made sure the door was shut completely before turning on the light, and kept his eyes shut as much as possible.

Finished, Sasuke washed his hands and left, turning the light off again. He rubbed his stomach, feeling it swirl uneasily. 'At least I ate dinner before Naruto arrived,' he thought. There was a dull ache at the back of his head, and his body felt heavy as he lay back down, pushing Naruto away to make room for himself. The rough movement elicited a snort from Naruto, before he settled back into sleep and after opening the window and letting some cool air in, Sasuke settled beside him.

After turning repeatedly and trying to find a good position, Sasuke found himself staring at the ceiling. Next to him, Naruto's breathing was deep and rhythmic, and Sasuke envied him for it. He raised a hand, stretching upwards before letting it fall down. The temperature in the room had dropped and Sasuke shuffled a little closer to Naruto and the warmth he exuded, rather than getting up to close the window.

"Sasuke?"

The voice was soft, but Sasuke jumped, jolting out the the stupor he had been lulled into. "W-what?"

Despite having been asleep moments ago, Naruto's eyes were bright and alert as he moved his face so he could look Sasuke in the eye. "...Hey."

Sasuke's mouth curled down. "Hey."

"You know I said I met up with Hinata?" Naruto was whispering, and Sasuke wanted to make fun of him for it, but he was speaking in quiet tones himself.

Frowning at the topic choice, and then trying to stop himself from frowning Sasuke pursed his lips. "Yeah?"

"I..." Naruto's lips parted, then closed again. "I think she thought it was a date."

"...Oh." Sasuke glanced down at the duvet bunched up between them. "Right."

"But it wasn't." Naruto swallowed. "A date, I mean. We're just friends."

"...Right." He glanced down again. "You're taking up too much of the bed."

"Sorry," said Naruto, not moving.

"...I think I'm still a bit drunk." Sasuke watched as Naruto considered this, head propped up slightly and hair falling into his eyes, and felt something curl in his stomach.

"Me too. You're probably going to be sick in the morning."

Sasuke made a sad noise into his pillow, closing his eyes again.

"Hey, don't fall asleep on me."

"'M tired."

Naruto laughed softly. "You're kind of adorable when you're sleepy."

Opening one eye, Sasuke glared. "I am not."

"You are." Naruto held his gaze. "You're always so- You have no idea."

"That doesn't make sense." Sasuke shifted back so he could look at Naruto with both his eyes. "You're weird."

"I'm not." Naruto frowned, then relented. "If I am, it's only because you make me weird."

"You were weird to begin with." Sasuke stifled a yawn. "What kind of idiot sleeps in the middle of a forest?"

"I was tired," Naruto said. "And if I hadn't been sleeping there, I wouldn't have met you. Not properly."

"I suppose."

"I'm glad we're friends." Naruto breathed out slowly, eyes fixed on Sasuke's shoulder then shifting to focus on him. "Sometimes...I feel like you're going to leave."

"We're all going to leave." Sasuke said. "School finishes in four months."

Naruto made a sound that could have been a laugh. "Don't remind me." He rested an arm on top of the duvet. "But we'll still be friends?"

Summoning some extra energy, Sasuke shrugged. "I guess." He expected Naruto to force a promise, or insist they make a blood pact, but a wide grin spread across his face.

"Good."

"Great," Sasuke said. "Can we go to sleep now?"

Naruto moved his leg so that his knee bumped Sasuke's shin, and left it there. "You really want to go to sleep?"

Sasuke glanced down, and then back up to Naruto's grinning face, trying to interpret what he saw there. "Naruto..." His voice held a warning, but he swallowed all the same, not moving back.

_We could fall_.

There was a shuffle, and Naruto moved again, then stopped as Sasuke put out a hand to grip his shoulder, preventing him from moving forward. "What?"

"This could be a bad idea." Sasuke paused, fumbling for the right words, even as he let his grip loosen and felt Naruto shift forward again. "We should be careful. Things could get messy... things could get broken."

"Sasuke." The wistful little breath Naruto let out was warm against his lips. "Don't you think it's kind of late for that?"

* * *

Sasuke woke before Naruto, finding an elbow pressed into his cheek. His head _ached_ and he sighed heavily, recognising the signs. His clothes were twisted around him so the hems pressed into his skin, and he realised with disgust that he had slept in the jeans and teeshirt he'd worn when Naruto arrived.

Pulling himself out of bed, Sasuke touched his stomach gingerly, ready to sprint to the bathroom at any moment. When no overwhelming nausea was forthcoming, Sasuke concluded that he was still drunk. His foot touched something cold and he pulled it back, glancing down to reveal the bottle of cognac they had been sharing. More than half of it was still there. Sasuke threw a glance at the lightly snoring Naruto.

"Seems like we're both lightweights," he said.

On his side, head tucked into the crook of his elbow, Naruto continued sleeping, expression blank and a small pool of saliva forming at the edge of his mouth. As Sasuke watched, he shifted slightly, tilting his head down so his nose skimmed the top of the duvet.

Opening his mouth, then closing it again, Sasuke considered him, frowning a little. Then, he moved forward, resting one knee on the bed, and leaning down to touch his lips against Naruto's. After a second he opened his eyes and moved back slightly, as a small frown formed between Naruto's eyebrows. Sasuke poked his shoulder. "Hey. Wake up."

Naruto swallowed, then took a deep breath, raising his arms slightly in a stretch, before flopping bonelessly back down. He let out a few slow breaths, then seemed to gather himself, opening first one eye, and then the other. "Sasuke?"

"Yeah." Sasuke stood up again, giving Naruto space and instead opened his wardrobe and pulled some clothes out. Behind him he heard creaking and turned to see Naruto sitting on the side of the bed. His elbows rested on his knees as he rubbed his hands over his face, smiling to himself. Sasuke thought he looked older than usual.

"What?" Naruto looked at him curiously.

"What what?" Sasuke said, then winced at the sentence. "I mean. What?"

"You're staring at me," Naruto said, a smile playing around his mouth.

"Your hair looks stupid in the mornings," Sasuke said. Naruto's hand came up to pat at the back of his head, feeling the spikes and flatness from sleeping. He chuckled.

"I guess it does." He tilted his head at Sasuke. "Anything else?"

"...I'm waiting to see if it feels weird," Sasuke said. He gestured between them. "Us."

"Oh." Naruto nodded leaning back on his hands. "Does it?"

Slowly, Sasuke shook his head. "No. It feels normal."

Naruto smiled, scratching at his tummy. "Good. It's not like we've done anything anyway. Although," he paused, as though catching an errant thought, eyebrows raising and eyes widening, "did you wake me up by kissing me?"

"No," Sasuke said, holding the clothes he'd picked out against his chest. "You didn't wake up. I had to poke you."

"But you did kiss me," Naruto said, sitting up straighter, a wide smile on his face.

"You kissed me first."

Naruto considered this. "True. Very true. I was drunk though."

"I'm still a bit drunk," Sasuke said, glancing at the bottle now on his bedside table. "Not enough for it to count though."

"Same here." Naruto's face was going to split in two if he smiled any wider. "So, is that our awkward morning after conversation over?"

"I guess," Sasuke said raising a hand to rub at his temples.

"Great." Naruto stood up, stretching and then pulled his teeshirt down from where it had ridden up. "In that case, I am going to go back to my room and take a shower."

"Mmm," Sasuke said, swallowing.

"Where did I put my hat?"

Sasuke took a deep breath, before darting into the bathroom and retching into the toilet bowl. He grimaced, gasping for air, and leaned forward again.

He groaned when he heard footsteps and felt Naruto kneel next to him. "G'way."

Leaning in slightly to peer at the contents of the toilet bowl, Naruto made an impressed noise. "Colourful." He moved out the way swiftly when Sasuke gagged, and Sasuke felt soothing circles being rubbed on his back.

"Why," Sasuke said, pausing to catch his breath and wiping his mouth on some toilet paper, "why aren't you sick?"

Naruto shrugged as Sasuke sat back on his heels, bracing one hand on the cold tiles of the floor while the other rested on his stomach. "I have a good metabolism. Plus I think I drink more than you do."

"I used to drink a lot," Sasuke said, rising up on his knees to drop the toilet paper in the bowl and flush, wrinkling his nose. "But I stopped."

"Good idea," Naruto said. Sasuke stood up and washed his face with water, gazing at the shower longingly.

"Leave now," Sasuke said. "I want to shower."

"Wow, it's nice to know you're still going to treat me with such love and affection," Naruto said, leaving the bathroom anyway. "Let me know if you find my hat."

* * *

Sasuke spent the majority of the day in his room. He felt better after his shower, but his headache persisted, along with background nausea that prevented him from seeking food. Instead, he listened to soothing music, nibbled on a pack of crackers he found at the back of his drawer, and watched the rain paint bubbles on his window.

After falling into a doze, Sasuke awoke slowly, inhaling into his pillow, and then frowning, his confusion pulling him into consciousness. The clock read four o'clock, and aside from a dryness in his mouth, he felt a lot better.

In the bathroom he rinsed his mouth, then drank some water, eagerly rehydrating. Finished, he wiped his mouth, wandering back into his room. He frowned when he realised his bed was still not made, and tidied it, finding Naruto's hat in the process, which had been pushed between the mattress and wall. The hat Naruto had gifted to him the night before, he put in his wardrobe.

Leaving Naruto's hat on his desk, Sasuke headed to the common room, feeling oddly restless. Although it was technically still holiday, the rain had coaxed students out of their dorms, and the room was half full. A group of students were sprawled across the sofas, watching an old sitcom and saying the lines along with the actors. Some students were tossing a Frisbee across the room, and it sailed past Sasuke as he entered.

Shooting the perpetrator a look, Sasuke scanned the room, locating Naruto sat at a low table with a few other people playing cards. As he watched, Naruto accepted a card, then punched the air, laying out his hand. His friends sighed, throwing their own cards down, and Naruto swept up the small pile of cookies that lay in the middle of the table.

As Sasuke watched, one of the friends noticed him and tapped Naruto's shoulder, saying something. Naruto glanced around, his eyes fixing on Sasuke, and smiled. He said something to his friends, stood up, and then made his way over to Sasuke. "Hey, what's up?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Nothing. Just bored."

"You feeling better?" Maybe because it was loud, or maybe because he didn't want to be overheard, Naruto leaned in slightly to ask the question. He rested a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Yeah," Sasuke said, scattered. "I slept it off."

"Never would have pegged you for a sleepy drunk," Naruto said.

"It depends on my mood," Sasuke said. "I normally wake up a couple of hours afterwards though."

"Hm." Naruto scanned the room before grabbing Sasuke's elbow, pulling him towards the door. "Let's go for a walk."

Sasuke managed to snatch his arm back as they were leaving, the door swinging shut and muffling the noise behind them. "We can't go for a walk, it's raining."

"Oh. Yeah." Naruto paused at the door that opened into the courtyard, then pushed it open. The tapping of water hitting the ground flooded the room, and a cool wetness permeated the air around them. "I guess it is."

Sighing, Sasuke sat down on the step, shielded from the rain by the slight overhang of the roof. "Idiot." The courtyard was empty, and behind it the playing fields were turning to mud after a day of constant drizzle. Beside him, he saw Naruto sit down, stretching his legs out and leaning back on his hands.

"Feel weird yet?" Naruto tipped his head back, squinting at the skyline. His hands were splayed out behind him, inches away from Sasuke. If Sasuke reached out, he could touch them.

"A little." Sasuke rolled his head slightly, feeling an ache in his neck. He rubbed at it, digging his fingers into the muscle. "You?"

"A little." Naruto rubbed at the worn material of his jeans, scratching his leg. "Probably not as much as you."

"Why would you say that?" Sasuke asked, frowning at him.

Naruto shrugged, shooting him a grin. "You think more than I do."

Lifting his mouth in a smirk, Sasuke snorted. "I can't argue with that."

Frowning suddenly, Naruto twisted so that he was leaning against the door, keeping it open, one of his legs pulled up so he could rest his arm on it. "I didn't mean that," he said, facing Sasuke. "I mean. I thought about it. I don't want you to think I didn't."

"I didn't ...think that," Sasuke said slowly.

"Good." Naruto's frown disappeared, but he didn't smile. "I know I seem kinda... laid back. But I wouldn't do that." He drummed the fingers against the stone step. "Like you said. Things like this...we should be careful."

There was a muffled thud from the common room, and Sasuke glanced behind him before turning back. He fixed his eyes on the trees shivering in the wind. "The most careful thing, would probably be to pretend last night never happened."

Naruto's head snapped up from where he'd been staring at the floor. "What?"

"I'm just saying." Sasuke kept his eyes on the trees. "We only have four months left before we both finish school. We're going to different places. Not to mention, if someone found out about...this...us. It would be bad." Sasuke waited for Naruto respond, eyes tracing the quivering lines of the treetops as they were battered by the rain. When Naruto said nothing, Sasuke turned to him. His head was tucked down, expression masked by his hair.

"Is that...are you saying, that's what you want?" Naruto raised his head slightly, fixing Sasuke with a serious look.

Sasuke paused for a moment, rubbing his palms on the fronts of his trousers, not having expected such a calm response.

"...No," he said finally. "That's not what I want."

* * *

**AN: **Sorry for the delay. Sort of forgot to update this. thanks to yesterday's reviewer who reminded me XDD. I got some great reviews for the last chapter ^^ thank you so much!

Oh, also, I saw some of you read 'Funny Face' by IronicPanda? I co-wrote it, but Sabrina posted it because we agreed the fic fitted in better with her style of writing than mine. It's a fic where Naruto is a comedian! Since it's not my account, I can't review reply, but it tickled me to see some of my readers reviewing it :D

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	7. April

**Seldom Woods**

_April_

"Don't be pissy. What's your problem?"

"Nothing."

"Obviously. You were fine, and now you've just frozen up."

"Because _you_ just stopped to give me an update on the _weather_."

"It's been raining almost constantly for a month, and now it's stopped! You don't think that's worth a mention?"

Sasuke considered staying quiet, then sighed, frustrated with Naruto and frustrated with himself. "I'm just saying," he said, fighting down the blush he _knew_ was rising on his cheeks. "If you're just going to stare out of the window, then I might as well go back to my physics homework."

Leaning back down, Naruto turned his head to the side where Sasuke's books rested on his desk. "Oh, sorry." The corners of Naruto's mouth turned down in a pout, then twisted back up as he grinned, lowering himself to lick the skin just under Sasuke's jaw. "Guess I'd better convince you that this is better than physics."

"Idiot," Sasuke said, struggling to keep his speech even. "This _is_ physics. Everything is physics."

"Hm?" Naruto paused where he had been considering Sasuke's ear, and moved back to look him in the eye. "What?"

Flustered, Sasuke frowned. "...Physics. You know. Laws of motion, entropy, inertia. The whole world runs on physics and..." he took in Naruto's glazed expression. "I have no idea why I'm telling you this. You clearly don't have a clue."

"Well, you're right on the last part. And usually I'd be confused why you're interrupting such an enjoyable moment to teach me about physics, but would you believe, coming out of your mouth, all that stuff actually sounds kinda sexy?"

That was stupid, in Sasuke's opinion, since there was nothing sexy about basic scientific facts, and he was about to tell Naruto so, before Naruto swooped back in to kiss him, and his comment was lost in a quiet sigh.

Sasuke eased his mouth across Naruto's, hands tightening their grip on his shoulders, feeling the way the muscles moved under skin and through the thin material of his shirt. He felt Naruto's tongue against his lips and opened his mouth obligingly. They moved slowly, because it was easier, and because they had time. Each time their mouthes met, Sasuke grew a little less surprised that someone like Naruto, bursting with energy, could be like this with someone else: so careful and unhurried, keeping himself under tight control.

His lips were soft and swollen from kissing. Every time Sasuke did something he liked, Naruto would pause, eyelashes fluttering against Sasuke's cheek, and then continue with renewed enthusiasm. Having that kind power over another person, to be able to make them forget themselves, was intoxicating.

Moving one of his hands down from Naruto's shoulder, across his chest, Sasuke paused as he reached the row of buttons that fastened the shirt together. Naruto's tie was loosened,the top two buttons opened, since Naruto insisted the high collar chafed his neck. Sasuke hesitated, two fingers ghosting over the still fastened buttons and stilling. At his lack of movement, Naruto paused too, pulling away in silent query so there was a tiny distance between them.

Swallowing, Sasuke moved his fingers to the side of Naruto's chest and flattened his palm, pushing slightly. Naruto rolled back, pulling so Sasuke ended up sprawled across him. Sasuke frowned and braced himself properly, leaning his weight on his forearms and appreciating when Naruto moved his legs apart slightly, creating a gap for him to lie in. He curled one hand around Naruto's neck and leaned down to kiss him once, before shifting to his neck and enjoying the surprised noise Naruto made.

"Hey," Sasuke said after a few seconds, licking his lips and making a face. "Are you wearing cologne?"

"Uh, yeah a bit," Naruto said, leaning up when Sasuke sat back. "Why?"

"It tastes vile." Sasuke ignored the urge to get some water.

"Oh." Naruto looked thoughtful. "Sorry. I'll stop wearing it then. It makes my nose itch anyway."

"If it makes your nose itch, why did you wear it in the first place?" Sasuke asked, raising his eyebrows when Naruto blushed and looked to the side.

"I thought you'd like it if I smelled nice."

"Why would I like cologne?" Sasuke asked, nonplussed. "I have my own cologne. If I wanted to smell it, I'd use it myself."

"I don't know." Naruto sat up, scooting backwards a little, away from Sasuke. "How should I know what you like?"

"Oh. Right." Sasuke wiped the edge of his lips with the back of his hand. He glanced at Naruto, who was staring at the wall, cheeks flushed and considered that he had probably just ruined the mood. "I should study."

"Nooo." Naruto snapped to attention, reaching up to clasp his hands behind Sasuke's neck and pull him back down. "You're always studying. You make me feel guilty."

"Maybe you should study then too," Sasuke said, smiling at the way Naruto's lips jutted out. Satisfied the situation had been saved, and ignoring his books for just a little longer, Sasuke closed the distance between them. He was pleased when Naruto's clutched at him instinctively, before letting out a happy sigh.

"I wish we could do _this_ for the next three months," Naruto said when Sasuke drew back for breath. Sasuke said nothing, just quirking an eyebrow and dipping his head again, running his tongue along the soft, slick skin of Naruto's lips and revelling in the feeling of moving together like this, of being so close to someone. He could feel the rise and fall of Naruto's chest, and the subtle shift of muscles when Naruto changed position beneath him. While Sasuke's arms were bracing him, Naruto's hands were free to explore, moving from Sasuke's neck to twist in his hair, and then down, moulding to his sides and resting on his hips, squeezing from time to time. When Naruto bit gently at Sasuke's lower lip while one of his hands slipped under Sasuke's shirt to touch at bare skin, Sasuke caught it, halting its advancement and pulled it out, before sitting up.

"Studying," Sasuke said after a second, eliciting a sad whine from Naruto at the sudden loss. Undeterred, Sasuke moved off the bed and retrieved his books from the desk, glancing at Naruto who was glaring at him. The effect was lessened by his tousled hair and rumpled shirt. Sitting down, Sasuke discovered his pen had rolled underneath the desk at some point and bent to pick it up.

"I should probably study too." Naruto had turned onto his side, head propped up on a hand as he watched Sasuke. "But studying is so boring." He sounded as though the sudden revelation was a surprise to him.

"It's probably a lot better than failing your exams," Sasuke said, trying to find where he had been reading from. Naruto made a little noise of agreement.

"Probably. But exams seem far away and _you're_ here right now. Why would I study when I could make out with you?"

"How about, if we do any _more_ of that, not only are we both going to fail our exams, but I'll wear out my chapstick?"

"Firstly, you are too damn smart to fail your exams. And secondly it would be your own fault for doing something as incredibly gay as using a chapstick." At that, Sasuke just levelled him a long stare, and turned back to his work.

* * *

The library was empty when Sasuke walked in. Through the windows came warm sunshine, although the air remained cool, cold in the shadows of the shelves. The desk was clear, save for a few piles of books, with Miss Haruno nowhere in sight. The large room was silent except for the hum of a few computers.

Relaxing slightly, Sasuke let the door close behind him and walked through the detectors. At the desk, he reached behind it to withdraw a large file that he flipped through, scanning the contents until he found what he was looking for. He took a mental note of the number referenced and replaced the file, walking towards the stacks. When he came to the right row he looked around again, still seeing no one else, before slipping into it.

The books were all labelled along their spines with a white sticker, coding them into specific areas and allowing students to find specific texts with relative ease. Sasuke had never been in this section before, and it took him a few minutes before he identified the shelf he wanted, checking once again that the row was completely empty before lowering into a crouch and tilting his head to read the titles. Leaning forward, he brushed over a few of the books, fingers tapping as he tried to find one he liked the look of. There were only four that he could find, one of which seemed like a textbook, one was more of a pamphlet, and the last two seemed almost childish, with bubble font on the front and cartoons scattering the pages when he flicked through.

Frustrated he picked up all four, gazing at the covers in the hopes of an answer making itself known. After a few minutes of reading the backs, he slid three of them back, intent on taking the pamphlet, when a noise made him jump and turn, wide-eyed and heart filled with dread.

"Sasuke! I didn't see you come in." Miss Haruno appeared at the end of the row, behind a trolley stacked with books.

_Shit_. Sasuke's grip slipped on the books he was replacing, two of them fell and he fumbled to catch them, then shoved them back, frantically trying to work out what to do with the pamphlet. "H-hi. Miss Haruno. Hello." Sasuke willed his breathing to return to normal and prayed that his face wasn't red.

Miss Haruno was frowning at his mistreatment of the books, one hand stalled, holding a book intended to be shelved. "Sasuke," she started, reprimand clear in her tone, "you shouldn't..." She trailed off, her frown deepening for a second before her eyebrows rose and her mouth opened in a little circle of understanding. Sasuke felt his heart plummet. "_Oh_."

Sasuke opened his mouth, then closed it, staring at the floor. "I'm not- I wasn't-"

"No, no, it's fine, _I'm_ sorry. I didn't realise." Miss Haruno was blushing slightly, but pressing her lips together in a way that made Sasuke think she was suppressing a smile. "It's...ah-"

Sasuke heard the _swish_ of her skirt, followed by her heels clicking along the floor and forced himself to raise his gaze to meet her as she reached him. She looked at the pamphlet he was holding, then pulled out the other three books and considered them, while Sasuke tried to press the reset button on his life.

"Hmm." Miss Haruno crouched down next to him, slipping the books he had replaced out and considering them. "I can see why you decided on that one." She sighed, turning them over and reading the blurb. "We really ought to have better literature on this topic, but to be honest they don't get a lot of use." She grinned at him, ignoring his blush. "Most boys like to think they already know all there is to know."

Deciding that nothing could be done to remedy the situation, Sasuke focussed on avoiding eye contact. "Right."

Miss Haruno seemed to sense his discomfort, replacing two of the books and handing him one that he had earlier disregarded. "I'd try this one, it's a bit patronising, but they have the facts right."

"Right," he said again, reaching out to take the book. His hand closed around the cover, but his gaze went straight past it, locked on Miss Haruno, eyes widening in surprise.

"I must say, it's really-" Miss Haruno stopped, following Sasuke's gaze and then flushing, her smile changing, becoming self-conscious, though still pleased.

"Are you...?" Sasuke watched as Miss Haruno stood up, following suit with the book grasped in his hand.

"I thought you knew," Miss Haruno said, rubbing an insecure hand over her stomach. The blouse she wore was high waisted with a generous amount of material falling to the waist, but even so, the curve of her belly was clearly visible. "I'm nearly five months along."

"Oh," said Sasuke. He was mentally trying to work out how he could have missed this and trying to quash the unjustified cries of _is it mine?_ echoing through his mind.

"I suppose you didn't notice, because usually I'm sitting down behind the desk, or hidden by a pile of books," Miss Haruno said with a little laugh. "And you've been so busy lately, with exams and universities and Naruto."

Sasuke nodded slowly. "I...didn't realise you were married." For a second he was terrified that he had misstepped, because of _course_ it was possible for women to have children outside of marriage but the idea of _Miss Haruno_ doing so just seemed so foreign.

"Engaged, actually," Miss Haruno said, raising her hand where for the first time, Sasuke noticed a ring sparkling. "I didn't want to go down the aisle looking like a balloon."

"You don't," Sasuke said, forcing his eyes back to her face and swallowing.

"Thank you," Miss Haruno paused, "although I still have a few months yet. I expect I'll be a whale." She misjudged Sasuke's look of concern. "Don't worry, I should be here until the end of the year, or at least by the time you leave. It's not long now."

"Three months," Sasuke said without needing to think. His eyes had drifted back down to her stomach, and he snapped them up again.

"It's not that long, is it?" Miss Haruno said, rubbing at her rounded stomach, eyes unfocused. Then she seemed to return to herself, letting her hand slip down to smooth out her skirt and smiling at Sasuke. "You can take the book, just bring it back before the end of term. Hold it over the detectors as you leave so the alarms don't go off, okay?" She gave him a small, secretive smile. Sasuke nodded and watched as she glided out of the row, pushing her trolley of books along.

After a few moments in which his brain tried to overcome the block it was experiencing, Sasuke left, taking the book with him.

* * *

Sunshine falling through his window distracted Sasuke from his work and he sighed, putting his pen down and flipping the pages back to read through what he'd done. He gave his bed a longing gaze and considered picking his pen back up or just leaving it for the day.

The chair slid backwards quietly and Sasuke stood, raising his arms above his head in a stretch and letting them fall back to his sides. He looked around his room, restless.

After a few moments of boredom warring against responsibility, Sasuke pocketed his keys and left his room, heading down the corridor and out of the dorms, towards the main school building. It was a Saturday and the weather was fine, so the hallways were cool and mostly deserted. He walked through the corridors flanked by maths classrooms, then towards the humanities area. As he neared his destination, his mouth twitching up into a half smile upon hearing the faint beat of a popular rock song being played.

Reaching the music room, the sound was even louder - though muffled - echoing through the empty corridors. Sasuke hesitated, feeling a little guilty, then peered through the window.

Sasuke hadn't been in the music room since third year, but it was the same as he remembered: cluttered with electric keyboards, trolleys full of small percussion instruments, a grand piano resting at the front, and the back of the room filled with miscellaneous instruments for students who took the subject or learned a specific discipline. In one corner, slamming into a drum set with vigour, head bobbing up and down with the beat, was Naruto. Sasuke's eyes immediately zoned in on the hedonistic grin spread across his face as he bashed at the drum kit. To his right, a student was playing the keyboard, and two others were holding guitars. Sasuke recognised the students as final years, but he wasn't sure of their names, or how Naruto could know them.

Feeling marginally guilty, Sasuke almost stepped back from the window and went back to studying, when he heard the drumbeat falter and saw that Naruto was looking at him, eyes lit up like a child surprised with a gift. The other members of the group continued playing for a second, then trailed off when Naruto failed to cooperate. Feeling guilty again, Sasuke ducked out of sight, leaning against the wall by the side of the door.

After a few moments in which Sasuke studied the music room notice board, the door swung open and the music started up again, this time without the drum beat.

"Hey," said Naruto, grinning. He let the door fall closed. "What's up?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Nothing. I was just bored. But if you're busy-"

"I'm not," Naruto said, hands raising slightly as thought to keep Sasuke in place. "Why? You wanna hang out?"

"I was going to go for a walk, since it's nice weather outside."

"Cool, yeah, just- give me a sec." He turned back into the music room, popping his head inside and calling something that was partially blocked out by the music. "Okay," he said, turning back to Sasuke.

"How's the band going?" Sasuke asked as they fell into step, the music behind them fading. Naruto's grin widened even more and he let out a quiet laugh.

"It's going great." He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up more than usual. "We'll be rock stars any day now." He glanced at Sasuke, waiting for a response, then continued. "We haven't thought up a name yet."

"How about, 'Naruto and the Tadpoles'?" Sasuke raised his eyebrows when Naruto faltered midstep, looking at him with wide eyes. "What?"

"That's actually not bad." Naruto considered it with a half smile. 'Naruto and the Tadpoles.' It has a good ring to it!" Ignoring Sasuke's snort, he continued. "Actually I said the name should have something to do with frogs, but the others didn't feel it so then I said it should have something to do with orange, but they didn't feel that _either_ and then we thought we should practice instead of discussing names. So it's all to play for."

"You sounded pretty good," Sasuke said as they left the main building, walking across the quad. Naruto beamed at him.

"Really? That's cool. We haven't done any of our own songs though." He trailed off, brows knitting together, then his expression cleared and he peered at Sasuke. "So what happened? I thought you wanted to study today?"

Sasuke shrugged, listening to the soft noise their footsteps made on the gravel. "I got distracted."

"Ha ha, tell me about it," Naruto said. "But if you want to just go for a short walk to clear your head-"

"No, it's fine. I don't think I'll do any more today anyway," Sasuke said as they took the path towards the woods.

Nodding, Naruto continued to walk with a bounce in his step. "Know where you want to go?"

"I thought we could just walk," Sasuke said as they left the campus, following a path that opened into a field, bordered by woodland.

"Works for me," Naruto said. "You haven't gone on a walk with me in _ages_."

"That's because you kept wearing your Wellington boots and carrying that stupid umbrella," Sasuke said.

"Wellies are what to wear when it's wet! That's what they're for."

"Yours are orange." A beat. "And you jump in all the puddles."

"That's also what they're for! What's the point in waterproof shoes if you're not going to jump in puddles?"

Sasuke sighed, looking away from Naruto, across the field and towards the hills behind it. The air was fresh, with a chill to it, but the sun was hot, almost burning on the back of his neck, so he looked forward to the shade and cool of the trees. They reached a gate which Naruto climbed over, then ran off, chasing a sheep on the other side of it, while Sasuke lifted the latch and walked through, sticking to the makeshift path. The sheep Naruto was chasing took offence, trotting off before slowing, its attention caught by a patch of grass.

"Stop terrorising the wildlife," Sasuke said, causing Naruto to slink back to the path, chided.

"It had it coming," Naruto said, glaring in a way that was completely lost on the sheep.

As soon as they reached the trees Naruto bounded off the path claiming he saw a rabbit. By the time Sasuke caught up with him, refusing to break out of his leisurely pace, Naruto was standing on a slight incline, at the base of an established tree with thick, gnarled branches. "Do you dare me to climb this?"

Standing abreast of him, Sasuke put his hands in his pockets. "What's the point? You're going to do it anyway."

Naruto puffed his cheeks out, offended. "Well I'm not going to do it now, and it'll prove you wrong. Hah!"

Sasuke raised his eyebrows as Naruto stared at the floor. "Go on. I know you're dying to."

"I'm not going to," Naruto said.

"Just climb the tree, Naruto."

"Oh you'd like that wouldn't you!" Naruto crossed his arms. "No way."

"Fine. Don't climb it."

"Damn right I will!" With that, Naruto grabbed the lowest branch and scrambled up. "I'll show you." Sasuke watched as he balanced on a solid branch near the trunk, reaching up, his bright orange tee shirt making him stick out from the bark and small, bright green leaves. There was a rustling, then Naruto's head peeped out of the foliage. "Are you coming up?" He seemed to sense Sasuke's reluctance. "Or are you worried you'll get twigs in your hair?"

It was a testament to how well Naruto knew Sasuke after only a few months that the fear of twigs in his hair had actually been running through his mind as he considered the tree. Resigning himself to a longer than usual shower that evening, Sasuke grabbed the branch Naruto had and hoisted himself up. Once he was crouched on the lowest branch, he was rewarded with a grin from Naruto who stuck his hand down. "Want help?"

"I'm fine here," Sasuke said, settling himself on the branch, with his legs hanging down.

"Hmph." There was some rustling, and then Naruto reentered Sasuke's line of vision, sitting on a branch a few feet up, his jean-clad knees at Sasuke's shoulders. "I'm still higher up than you."

"Congratulations," Sasuke said, ignoring him when Naruto poked his shoulder with the toe of his trainer.

"So," Naruto said after a moment, "you wanna talk about something? You seem kinda quiet. Quieter than usual, I mean."

"I've got a few things on my mind." Sasuke watched his feet dangle below him.

"So tell me. I'm your boyfriend, so you can tell me stuff that's on your mind," Naruto said. He nudged Sasuke with his foot again, and this time Sasuke caught his ankle and looked up at him.

"Boyfriend, huh?" He felt Naruto's leg twist slightly through his jeans, then still as Naruto grinned down at him.

"Yup. Boyfriend. So you come to me when you have stuff on your mind or when you want to kiss me. Don't worry, I'm a good boyfriend, I won't turn you away."

"And what does that make me?" Sasuke asked. Naruto wriggled his ankle again and Sasuke released him.

"Well...you're my boyfriend too," Naruto said, swinging his legs. "So, go on, what's up?"

'Exams,' Sasuke wanted to say. Exams and university and Itachi and what might have happened the week before if he hadn't stopped them and gone back to his physics homework. "Did you know Miss Haruno is pregnant?"

"She's _what_?" There was a tremor through the tree and when Sasuke looked up, Naruto was holding onto the branches with both hands, eyes wide. "_Pregnant? How?_" Sasuke gave him a bland look. "I don't mean _how_ how, I mean- Is she even married?"

"Engaged, apparently," Sasuke said, vindicated that Naruto was reacting far more explosively than he had.

"_Engaged_?" Naruto pushed back his hair with one hand. "To _who_?"

"I don't know," Sasuke said, earning an aggravated noise from Naruto. "We don't know anything about her."

"I guess not." Naruto sounded upset. "But we talk to her all the time! We would have known if she had a boyfriend!"

"We didn't notice she was four months pregnant," Sasuke said.

Naruto frowned. "How did you find out?" he asked. "Did she tell you, or..."

"She didn't tell me," Sasuke shook his head. "She was just. Big."

"Oh. I guess it's been a while since I last saw her... been busy." Naruto looked at Sasuke, before ducking his head, a hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck. "When's she gonna... you know?"

"She said she was five months along, so it should be another four."

"...Do you think she'll quit her job?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know."

"I think she might. She seems like the kind of mum that would stay at home and look after her baby."

An image of his own mother came to mind, what she must have looked like cradling him as a newborn. She had stayed at home to take care of him, Sasuke remembered. Who had looked after Naruto as a child, he wondered. "Maybe." He almost added that they would have left school by that point anyway.

There was some rustling, and Sasuke heard Naruto cursing under his breath. "What?" Sasuke asked, tipping his head back to look at him. Naruto was blinking rapidly and poking at his eye.

"I think I got some bark in it," he said, squinting, then adding in a petulant voice, "it's annoying."

"Does it hurt?" Sasuke squinted, unwilling to let bark land in his eyes.

"No," Naruto said stretching the skin around his eye so that he looked like a ghoul. "It's just annoying."

Sighing, Sasuke stood up, steadying himself on some branches, until he was eye level with Naruto. He wiped his hands on the front of his jeans, bracing one hand on a thick branch, and faced a still blinking Naruto who looked at him in surprise. "Let me see."

"Uh..." Naruto stayed still as Sasuke leaned forward, one hand holding his head in place, seemingly not breathing. His eyes skittered and he blinked even more.

"Stop that, moron," Sasuke said. "You have to keep them open."

"S-sorry," Naruto said, swallowing. Sasuke felt the fine muscles in his face tense under his palm, trying to stay still.

"Look up," he said, watching as Naruto hesitated for a second, then looked towards the sky. "Look right." Naruto's eyes were watering slightly, making them glassy as they kept darting back to Sasuke. "Left." He released the gentle hold his fingertips had on Naruto's skin, moving his hand to his shoulder. "There's nothing there. You must have blinked it out."

"Oh." Naruto blinked again, dazed. For a moment, Sasuke considered kissing him, eyeing his mouth and remembering what it felt like, how it was so satisfying to cut him off mid-sentence, but even more satisfying to kiss him when he wasn't talking, just because he could.

"Let's go back," Sasuke said, instead.

Despite being relatively new to the school and the surrounding woodland, Sasuke noticed that Naruto was familiar with the path they took, veering off from time to time, but never losing his orientation. It made him wonder just how much time Naruto spent in the woods when Sasuke wasn't with him. The idea of Naruto walking through the trees alone made something twist in his stomach, but the carefree grin Naruto tossed in his direction - one palm flat against the trunk of a massive, ancient oak, tipping his head back to look up into its boughs - dispelled the feeling entirely.

They climbed a small hill, Sasuke taking the path and Naruto taking short cuts. At the top they sat on a weather worn boulder and watched sun sink behind the hills, lighting the pine trees from behind with a soft pink glow, and talked about nothing in particular. Sasuke watched as two birds soared across the sky, wings outstretched in a controlled free-fall. And then, from Naruto: "How's your brother?"

"What?" Sasuke tensed, eyes narrowing and his peaceful mood evaporating. "Why?"

"I don't know. You haven't mentioned him in a while. Are you going to see him soon?"

"No," Sasuke said. "Probably not. He's somewhere in the US, I think."

"Oh." Naruto shuffled, letting his legs hang down over the edge of the rock. "You two really don't get on, huh? How come?"

"Because he ruined my life." Sasuke grit his teeth, forcing himself to relax. He watched Naruto kick his legs, the backs of his trainers made a _put put put_ noise as they collided with the stone. "You don't have any siblings." It came out as more of a statement than a question, but Naruto shook his head in answer.

"Nope, just me. And don't think I don't know what you're doing." Naruto scowled, then sighed. "You hardly ever talk. Sometimes I don't have a clue what's going on in your head."

"You talk all the time," Sasuke said. "But you don't say anything."

Naruto frowned. "That's not..." He rubbed his finger against a divot in the rock. "Well. Maybe." After a moment: "I'd have liked a brother or sister." He fixed a steady eye on Sasuke, looking hopeful, and a little shy. "Sometimes I feel like you're kind of a brother to me."

Sasuke blinked, feeling a weird jolt in his stomach as he met Naruto's eager gaze, then snorted, looking away. "If you think of me as a brother, you're going to need some serious therapy in later life."

"H-hey, not like that," Naruto said, hands up and flapping to insist his innocence. "That came out wrong." Sasuke laughed again, watching as with a groan, Naruto pulled his legs up and hid his face on his knees. "Wrong, wrong, wrong."

They stayed out until all traces of daylight were wiped from the sky, to be replaced with a velvety darkness that gave the cool air a feeling of intimacy and calm.

"We've probably missed dinner," Sasuke said.

"Probably," Naruto agreed, grinning.

Dinner was finished by the time they got back, because Naruto insisted on taking a detour so they could see what cows looked like when they were asleep. The kitchens did supply them with toast and Naruto produced half a pack of cereal from somewhere, so they ate that instead, shaking out handfuls as they walked back to the dorms.

"Damn," said Naruto around a mouthful of jam coated toast, "we should have gone to the pond."

"To see Trevor?" Sasuke smiled at the memory. "I'm not sure he would have still been there. Maybe if you took him crisps." Naruto laughed in surprise.

"I used to feed him crisps! Or I did, once. How did you know?"

"You told me, idiot," Sasuke said.

"Did I?" Naruto squinted. "Really? Man, I don't even remember!"

"You don't remember anything," Sasuke said, waiting patiently for Naruto to unlock his door.

"Just because of that, I'm taking the rest of the cereal," Naruto said, swiping the box from Sasuke and stepping inside. "See you tomorrow?"

"Probably," Sasuke said, not feeling the loss of the cereal too keenly. Naruto stuck his tongue out at him, before closing the door.

About an hour later, Sasuke stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist, and stared at his reflection in the mirror. His reflection looked back placidly. Seeing that no answers were forthcoming, Sasuke took his toothbrush from the sink and held it under the tap for a few seconds, then squeezed out a blob of toothpaste. He brushed, rinsed, used a towel to dry his hair, then brushed his teeth again and rinsed again.

Naruto took twenty eight seconds to answer the door. "Sasuke!" he said, mouth full of biscuits. "What are you doing here?" Even while saying that, he was cramming another biscuit in and stepping back to let Sasuke enter.

"Just...you know." Naruto's room was a typical mess. There was a set of white headphones resting next to the laptop on the desk, on which a flash game was paused with an irritating jingle playing. The bed was unmade, duvet rumpled and pillow on the floor and on the floor was dotted with textbooks and clothes. Super Nooto was nowhere in sight. "Are you busy?"

"Nah, not really." Naruto was wearing his dressing gown again, open over a tee shirt and plaid boxers. "Just messing around." He clicked his fingers, a sudden thought occurring to him. "Hey, can I borrow your revision guide? I think I spilt juice on mine and now the pages are sticking together."

"Sure. I'll bring it over tomorrow." Sasuke watched Naruto hit a key on his computer. "Why is your room always a tip?"

Naruto looked around as though discovering his room for the first time. "It's not _that_ messy," he said.

"You haven't even made the bed." Sasuke eyed the rumpled heap of bedding.

"Well I'm going to get back into it soon, what's the point?" Naruto said. Seeing Sasuke's expression, he huffed and stomped three paces to the bed, pulling the duvet straight and retrieving his pillow. He put one knee on the bed, stretching to drop it on the top of the bed. "There. Happy now?" He turned back round, hands on his hips.

Sasuke took one step forward, then another, pushed Naruto down and crawled over him. "Very."

"Oh," said Naruto, grinning. "If you wanted to do this, you should have said."

Sasuke didn't feel that Naruto's statement warranted a reply, so instead he just moved until the line of his body was pressed tightly against Naruto's and dipped his head to kiss him. Naruto made a happy noise, and Sasuke felt him smile, one hand weaving through his hair and the other settling warm and steady against his hip. They kissed, slow and soft, mouths moving against each other with care before parting to deepen the kiss, struggling to co-odinate their breathing. Sasuke felt Naruto's legs part, pulling up slightly, and shifted to rest more comfortably, all the while enjoying the feeling of Naruto's mouth on his, and Naruto's smooth, soft skin beneath his fingers.

He jerked slightly when he felt fingers slipping under his tee shirt, touching sensitive skin on his stomach and sides, then pulled away, sitting up. Naruto followed his retreating mouth blindly for a second, then opened his eyes and leaned up on his elbows. "What?"

"Nothing." Sasuke took a breath, then lowered back down, watching Naruto's eyes dip, first to electric blue slits and then closed. And when Naruto's hands came up again, this time hesitating, skimming the skin above his waistband, Sasuke just took a breath and carried on kissing him. He suppressed a shiver when Naruto's fingertips moved upwards, almost tempted to squirm away, surprising himself when he arched into the touch. "Hey, idiot," Sasuke said as Naruto's hands moved up, along his back, tracing the notches in his spine in something akin to wonder.

"What?" Naruto mumbled, nuzzling against his mouth, rather than making any serious attempt at kissing.

"Take off your dressing gown." Sasuke shoved at the offending article, then moved back to let Naruto pull it off.

"Want me to take anything else off?" Naruto leered, pushing Sasuke over and towering above him, fingers sliding over his collarbone, then hurrying back down to sneak under his shirt, as though he couldn't bear to spend a second without contact.

"I'm fine," Sasuke said, hissing when Naruto's curious fingers made their way up his abdomen. In retaliation, he slipped his own hands under Naruto's shirt, and pinched him. Naruto's grip faltered, then he squeezed.

"Did you just _pinch_ me?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "You deserved it." He pinched him again for good measure.

"You know, just because you did that, I'm not going to kiss you any more," Naruto said, withdrawing his hands and mouth.

"Fine," Sasuke said, extracting his own hands. "I'm tired anyway." He expected Naruto to get up, or try to coax him back into kissing, but instead he flopped down next to him, shoulder pressing against his. His fingers twitched, tapping against his leg for a second, then grabbed Sasuke's hand and pulling it up to scrutinise. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," Naruto said, poking his palm and then drawing a little circle in the middle that made Sasuke flinch and pull away. "What?"

"Ticklish," Sasuke said, scowling at the look of excitement on Naruto's face. "No," he said as a hand crept towards his side. _"No._ Or I will leave and never come back."

Naruto squinted. "You're bluffing."

"Try me."

With a huff, Naruto settled back down but took Sasuke's hand again, tracing the lines on his palm like a mystic. Sasuke grit his teeth at the foreign sensation, subduing the urge to wrench his hand back. "I don't believe you," he said. "You'd miss me far too much."

"Idiot," Sasuke said. Then, "I should go back to my room. The bed's too small. And you're too warm. And heavy."

"I know," Naruto said, turning into his side and moving closer, throwing one leg over Sasuke's. "But stay here, okay?" His breath was hot against Sasuke's neck and when Sasuke turned his head, his nose brushed the tips of Naruto's hair.

"Alright."

"Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"Next time, we'll go to the pond to see Trevor, okay?"

"Okay."

* * *

**AN:** Sorry that we're running so behind schedule, I have some things I want to sort out for later months before I post too much. That said, hopefully there will be more posted in the next month or so. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and keep reading, ^^. Thank you to everyone that reviews!


	8. May

**Seldom Woods**

_May_

"Play something for me."

Sasuke eyed the piano warily, and then raised his eyes to see Naruto grinning at him from the other end of it. "Really?"

"Sure, why not? When are you going to get a huge piano like this to play again?"

"I have a piano like this at home," Sasuke said. "But I don't like playing it."

"So play something for me now."

"Alright." Sasuke thought for a moment, running his fingers over the keys and testing the pedals for feeling, before starting the first chord for _Greensleeves._

He hadn't played in a long time, but the notes came easily, passing straight through his mind and into his fingers which played almost without thinking. It was a slow song, which was why he had liked it in the first place, giving him time to pace. Occasionally, he glanced up to see Naruto watching him, then looked back down at the keys, embarrassed.

The piece finished surprisingly quickly. "That was awesome."

"Thanks."

"Play something else?"

"What?"

"Anything."

Nothing came to mind, as much as Sasuke racked his brains, not even the simplest tunes, and he didn't want to improvise. Fortunately, under the piano was a box full of sheet music. He pulled out a book, flipping through it to find a piece he was familiar with, so he could impress Naruto. He decided and propped the book on the stand for sheet music, eyes glancing over the first few notes.

"Where'd you get that?" Naruto was suddenly behind him, arms looped around his neck and chin propped on his shoulder. Sasuke jumped, turning his head to Naruto, then back at the book.

"From the library," he started, then looked at the book clearly, and realised that it _was _the book he'd taken from the library. _Shit._ "Hey, don't-"

Naruto had moved again, holding up the book and flipping through it, eyebrows raising. Sasuke felt his cheeks colour in mortification. "Wow, Sasuke. You really did your research, huh? Oh look, there are even pictures!"

He put the book back on the stand, open at a different page, one Sasuke hadn't seen in his previous perusals. He didn't think a picture like that should be in a library book. He really hoped Miss Haruno hadn't known it was there when she gave it to him. He tried to close the book, but Naruto, behind him again, kept it open.

"It's fine," he said, not at all embarrassed, and it only served to make Sasuke feel worse.

"No, it's not," Sasuke said. "It's obscene."

"You think?" Naruto considered the book, tilting his head to fully appreciate the positions illustrated. "I don't know, we could try it out?" Saying that, he moved away, and somehow managed to slide onto Sasuke's lap. Sasuke opened his mouth to protest, because Naruto was going to damage the piano, but found himself with a mouthful of Naruto's tongue.

"Mrrphg," he said.

"Right," Naruto said, reaching between them and squeezing in a way that made Sasuke realise that he was very hard and not morally against doing obscene things with Naruto, even if it did damage a piano.

The piano bench was stupid, but Sasuke managed to keep upright, even with Naruto insistently rocking into him until they were both breathless. "Isn't this a bit-" Sasuke bit back a groan, releasing a shaky breath and forcing himself to take a new one because he was not willing to put up with any kind of interruption for as insignificant a reason as asphixiation.

"No, it's not," Naruto said. "It's just really, really good."

"Y-yeah." Sasuke, swallowed, entirely focussed on the short, rapid movements Naruto was making against him. "S-shit, I'm close..."

"Then come," Naruto whispered, silkily against his ear, and-

-and Sasuke sat up, having woken himself. His heart beat was pounding in his ears, his hand had mysterious migrated into his boxers, and he could feel the last echoes of a phantom release shudder through him while being painfully aware that he was still hard and hadn't come. Groaning, he pulled his hand out and lay back down, gritting his teeth. Third time this week.

_Fucking Naruto._

* * *

"See, this is fun, isn't it?"

"Incredibly." Sasuke caught the blue frisbee and tossed it back. Instead of stretching to catch it, Naruto dived for it, resulting in a vaguely impressive but ultimately unnecessary catch.

"I caught it!" Naruto held the frisbee up like a prize.

"Can we go in yet?"

"No we can't. This is a mandatory study break." Naruto tried to spin the frisbee around on one finger. It overbalanced and he caught it easily. "If you don't do somethingiexcept/i study, you're going to become a robot." Naruto, sensing Sasuke's lack of cooperation, flopped to the grass.

"I don't see why we had to go outside," Sasuke said, glancing around them. The grounds were littered with students, some studying, some chatting, while others napped in the sun. "We could have stayed in our dorms."

Snapping to attention, Naruto raised his eyebrows and adopted a leer, resting his weight on his hands and leaning closer to Sasuke. "Oh yeah? I wouldn't say no..."

Sasuke glared, leaning away and glancing around, checking to see if anyone was looking. "Not here, idiot."

Naruto harrumphed, leaning back on his hands and moving away. "If location's your problem, we can go back to the dorms." He looked at Sasuke speculatively. "Well?" He rolled his eyes when Sasuke just glared and looked away. "Yeah. That's what I thought."

"Naruto..."

Naruto waved a hand. "It's fine. Whatever."

Guilty, Sasuke considered. "I'm just... not in the mood."

Looking torn between blowing it off and making something of it, Naruto squinted, then looked around before leaning in, lowering his voice against the background chatter. "I really don't get you sometimes. Last week you were fine. We were..." He made a crude gesture. "You know. All the time. And this week..." He sat back, looking stubborn. "It's like you have an on-off switch for your hormones."

Sasuke snorted. "I've just got other stuff on my mind."

"Which is exactly why we should be relaxing in the dorms," Naruto said. Seeing that Sasuke wasn't swayed, he sighed, getting to his feet. "Okay fine. Five more minutes, then we can go inside and _study_. Happy?"

"Throw the damn frisbee."

* * *

"If you could have sex with anyone in the world, who would you choose?"

Sasuke stopped writing midsentence and twisted his neck to favour Naruto with an incredulous look. "What kind of a question is that?"

Shrugging, Naruto attempted to juggle with his pen, a rubber and a highlighter. "It's just a question." The highlighter bounced off his notes and fell onto the bed. He scrambled in the sheets trying to find it. "Well?"

"I don't know." Sasuke scowled at the question. "I haven't thought about it."

"How can you not have thought about it?" Naruto lay on his stomach, leaning over the side of the bed and trying to find the highlighter.

"Then who would you sleep with?" Sasuke put down his pen and turned himself around, just as Naruto found the highlighter, holding it aloft like a trophy. He dropped his arm at the question.

"Um. Outside of you?"

Sasuke flushed, swallowed, and tried to avoid Naruto's suddenly intense gaze. "Outside of me."

"Hmm. Lara Croft."

Sasuke snorted. "Original."

"Like you wouldn't." Naruto had sprawled on his back, one knee pulled up, considering the ceiling and apparently forgetting it was Sasuke's bed.

"Not Miss Haruno, then?" Sasuke said instead of answering. Naruto sat up, frowning.

"Of _course _not!"

Taken aback by the reaction, Sasuke stared for a moment. "I thought you liked her."

"Obviously I like her, you know how I feel about her legs," Naruto said. "But I wouldn't have _sex _with her. I'd marry her and have blond haired green eyed babies. Two girls and a boy."

"...You do know how the whole reproduction thing happens, don't you?"

Naruto waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah yeah. But there's a different. Between fucking and... you know."

Sasuke didn't know. "And...sex?"

"No, not _sex_." Naruto crossed his hands over his chest, glaring off to the side. "You know. _Making love._"

"Oh."

"Yes."

"So. You're an expert on that, hmm?"

"I know there's a difference," he said hotly.

Sasuke didn't know quite what to make of that, so he returned to his essay.

* * *

Sasuke rubbed his eyes, then redirected his attention back to the past paper he was studying, checking his answer against the mark scheme and growling in frustration. He sifted through the pile of papers on his desk, lifting his textbook to check underneath it and finding the correct sheet right in front of him. Momentarily, his eyes rested on a post-it stuck to his wall. It read 'relax' and underneath was a doodle of a Narutoesque figure sticking his tongue out. Sasuke smiled slightly.

His watch beeped and he frowned as he realised over an hour had passed since he started the paper, and he was less than half way through. He glared at the post-it blaming it's distraction for his slow pace. He was tempted to throw it away, but everytime Naruto came in he casually checked it was still there, and Sasuke knew it made him happy that it had been kept.

For the next half an hour, he struggled to keep focused, but his eyes kept straying to the bed, or to the door, expecting Naruto to come knocking at any moment, despite knowing he was in class all afternoon. Eventually he decided to take a break and left his room, intent on forgetting his frustrations with a change of scenary and found hismelf skulking around the fiction section of the library, reading the back of a sci-fi novel he vaguely remembered reading in first year.

He was flipping through the first few pages when he heard some shuffling and the rustle of pages. Replacing the book he looked around the corner and caught sight of Miss Haruno opening up a large cardboard box resting on one of the tables, with three more on the floor nearby. She noticed him and smiled, face flushed, beckoning him over. "Sasuke. Help me with this delivery?" Obediently, he joined her at the table and helped unpack the books. "I'll take them out, and you check them off on the list," she said.

"Are you sure I shouldn't take them out and you inventory them?" Sasuke said, noticing the flush on her cheeks. She gave a self-conscious smile, and nodded, taking the clipboard Sasuke held out to her as he took over opening the box.

"It's been a while since you helped me out around here," Miss Haruno said as Sasuke unpacked the books into stacks and fished out the invoice from the bottom.

Sasuke didn't know how to respond to that, but some expression must have shown on his face, because Miss Haruno laughed lightly. "I'm just teasing you, I know you've got a lot going on. Just this week I've had two students have minor break downs. I wish they would use the revision time tables I printed out." She gestured to the desk where a pile of papers were sitting.

"Naruto filled in one of those," Sasuke said, noting the smile that spread on Miss Haruno's face and deciding not to mention that Naruto hadn't paid the slightest bit of attention to the timeable after his brief enthusiasm over filling it out.

"That's right, he's really been studying hard." Miss Haruno smiled fondly. "I never would have thought he could be so determined. I think you bring out a good side to him, Sasuke."

Sasuke just shrugged, not at all sure that was true. He definitely brought out a side of Naruto that had a hard time keeping his hands to himself, but Sasuke wasn't sure if he'd group that development in the 'good' category. Sorting through the books on autopilot, Sasuke wondered what Naruto was doing. He had music class that afternoon and was probably working on his exam piece. He might stay there for prep. Sasuke contemplated visiting him, but dismissed the idea. Naruto was still annoyed and upset, thinking he'd done something wrong, and as guilty as Sasuke felt, he wasn't willing to explain just what iwas/i wrong.

Still, Sasuke's chest felt tight as he remembered the look on Naruto's face the previous day when Sasuke had brushed him off. His lips had parted, as though surprised, and then searching for something to say. Then he had squared his jaw, turning back to his books in a way that let Sasuke know he wasn't going to let the issue lie. Which was fine, Sasuke thought, mechanically sorting the books into piles. He didn't intend to let the issue lie either. He'd talk to Naruto in a few days. When he was ready.

"Who is she?"

"What?" Sasuke looked up, blinking. "Pardon?"

Taking the book he was holding and ticking it off on her list, Miss Haruno gave him an indulgent smile. "The mystery girl that has you day-dreaming so much you didn't hear me call your name three times."

Sasuke opened his mouth, then closed it, pursing his lips and searching for the words. "Didn't hear you..."

"Evidently." Miss Haruno claspeded the clipboard to her chest, the bottom resting on her stomach and smiled pensively. "Young love."

"It's really not..." Sasuke swallowed, feeling hot. He hoped very much she wasn't using The Book as evidence for the existence of a mystery relationship, because he had hoped that incident would have been filed under 'things never thought about ag ain'.

"She must be some girl to have caught your attention, I thought you only had time for past papers these days. Someone from the village perhaps?"

Gathering himself, Sasuke tried to focus. "Really. There's no girl."

Something must have been apparent in his tone, because Miss Haruno faltered for a second, eyes widening, lips parting and a brief expression of surprise, before sliding back into a smile. "Alright, alright. I was just teasing you, Sasuke." Sasuke forced a laugh, letting out a short breath of relief as the topic was dropped and returning to sorting to the books, emptying the first box and starting on the second.

It took about half an hour for them to finish processing the delivery, in which Sasuke found himself taking out three extra books, although he'd assured himself he wouldn't read anything until his exams were over.

"Thanks so much for your help," Miss Haruno said as he left, sat back behind the desk.

"It's fine." Sasuke nodded.

"Oh, and Sasuke?" He glanced up at her query. "Good luck."

Sasuke frowned. "For my exams?"

Miss Haruno just smiled and turned back to scanning the new additions. Sasuke hesitated for a moment, then left.

* * *

Sasuke couldn't find Naruto. He wasn't in his room; Sasuke had gone as far as to go inside and check, using his spare key. He wasn't in the common room either, or the library, and football and rugby season were over, so he wasn't at practice. Sasuke wondered if Naruto hadn't left the grounds without telling him, which was unlikely because Naruto told him when he was going to the bathroom or when he burped, mainly so he could ask Sasuke to rate it. The idea was infuriating, but when the music room also turned up nothing, he decided that he might as well give up and go back to his room to see if the album he was downloading had finished.

Paused in the doorway, he gazed around the empty room, eyes alighting on the piano. It was late, late enough that only Naruto, who frequently lost all sense of time, could still be in school, and since he was apparently not, Sasuke surmised that the whole department was probably empty. He deliberated for a minute, checking that the hallway was clear, before slipping into the room and letting the door swing closed behind him.

He ran his fingers along the lid, considering and feeling the cool surface under his fingertips, before sliding onto the bench and lifting the lid. Fingers resting gently on the keys, Sasuke tried a few notes, feeling the way the sound wafted through the air, rich against the silence of the room. Taking a breath, he played a scale from memory, once slowly, getting used to the movements, then faster, pleased that despite the lack of practice, his movements were still precise and controlled.

Finding himself eager to play more, Sasuke tried a simple piece that he had learned in his early lessons. He couldn't remember the name of it - something about rivers or birch trees - but the notes came easily enough until he got to the last bar and played a flat key that sounded completely wrong. Frowning, he tried again, experimenting with different keys and listening to see if it sounded any closer to the original.

"I didn't know you played piano."

Sasuke snapped his head around to see Naruto standing near the door, arms crossed, a petulant expression on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"I do take the class." Naruto uncrossed his arms and took a few steps closer, stopping at the edge of the piano. "Why are you here? How come you can play piano? You didn't tell me."

"You didn't ask," Sasuke said, removing his hands from the keys to rest at his sides.

Naruto shrugged. "I guess I should have known. You're kind of the piano playing type. I bet you only do it so girls think you're talented and mysterious."

"Yes. You got me. My aim in life, revealed." He paused. "Do you play?"

"Here and there," Naruto said, eyeing the piano. He watched Sasuke for a few moments. "Do you want me to leave?"

"What?" Sasuke nearly stood up, but he hadn't pushed the stool out so he had to sit back down. "No. Of course not."

"Okay." Naruto beamed, the slid in next to him, not so close that their legs touched, but almost. "Let's play something together then."

"That sounds like a terrible idea," Sasuke said, trying to fight down the suddenly overwhelming wave of deja vu. "I thought you said you didn't play."

"Then you can show me." Naruto presented his hands to Sasuke. "I'll do the chords, and you do the complex part."

"This is a really stupid idea. I refuse to take part in it."

His statement was ignored and instead, Naruto swiveled around to rifle through a stack of sheets and books, before pulling out a selection and showing them to Sasuke. "Here. Choose something."

Seeing no other option that wouldn't make him look like a fool, Sasuke snatched the offered sheets and flipped through, trying to pick out something he liked the look of, and also ignore the blush threatening his ears. "This one's fine." he set it on the stand and looked at Naruto. "Well?"

"You have to show me," Naruto said simply, holding his hands up again.

Sasuke frowned, taking Naruto's hands and guiding them to the keys. He briefly consulted the music, and adjusted Naruto's fingers accordingly. Naruto's hands felt too big and ill-suited for a piano, and despite all the kissing, Sasuke felt like this was the most intimate thing they'd ever done, and the air was charged between them. "There. Just alternate between this set," he pressed down on Naruto's fingers, playing out the chord, "and this one," he demonstrated again, "every four beats. Got it?"

"Yeah." What Naruto was so happy about was a mystery to Sasuke, but he was being quieter than usual, and that was something.

"Okay." Shifting back, Sasuke took a breath, ignoring the way that Naruto's scent flooded his sense, and positioned his own hands. "Start whenever, I'll join after the first two bars."

Nodding, Naruto pressed down on the first set, brows pulled together as he held the sound, then moved to the second chord, letting it play out. Letting out a short breath, Sasuke joined in as Naruto shifted back, wondering why he agreed to this when he was so out of practice. Fortunately the piece was slow, and the only problem was Naruto's inability to play for a uniform four beats without the aid of a metronome. It probably sounded awful to an outside listener, but Sasuke's ears felt curiously stuffed up anyway, so it wasn't a problem.

Just when he was starting to relax, he found himself playing alone, the backing chords petering out.

He turned to Naruto, blinking. "Why'd you sto-"

Naruto kissed him.

Immediately, Sasuke tensed, his hands on the piano pressing down reflexively, causing the instrument to play out jarringly, the notes all jumbled on top of each other. Sasuke pulled his hands off the keys, and then dropped them in his lap, uncertain. Naruto had one hand touching Sasuke's chin, as his lips pressed gently but firmly against his. It was hesitant and sweet and nothing like Naruto's usual enthusiastic kisses. His eyes were closed, so Sasuke closed his eyes too, feeling Naruto's hand curve against his cheek, holding his face in position, move back slightly and then return with another soft kiss.

Surprised, and a little confused, Sasuke brought a hand up to curl around Naruto's wrist, opening his mouth, using tongue to try and bring the kiss back to more familiar ground. Naruto refused his attempts, slowly retracting and then just breathing against Sasuke's mouth, damp from the kiss. Frustrated, Sasuke frowned and kicked his leg. "What was that?"

Naruto seemed to come back to earth. He blinked, and let out a slow smile that wasn't sexy, just happy, as though Sasuke had said something amazing. "...I just really wanted to kiss you."

Eyes widened, momentarily, then Sasuke scowled. "What are you talking about? We kiss all the time." He rolled his shoulders, trying to ignore the way they kept bumping into Naruto's.

Naruto made a face. "No we don't. Everytime we start you pull away, and then make up a stupid excuse to go somewhere else."

"I do not make up excuses," Sasuke said, offended. "I just have things to do."

"Uh huh, awfully convenient that these things come up everytime we're alone together."

"We're alone now. Shouldn't I be leaving, according to your theory?"

"How should I know?" Naruto's voice raised, and then abruptly petered out as he remembered himself. "You don't tell me anything. If you don't want to...do that anymore. Then just say. If you want me to change something, then just tell me. I can't do it if you don't tell me."

iJust tell me/i. The words echoed in Sasuke's mind as he weighed up the options, clenching and unclenching his fists.

Meanwhile, Naruto had taken his silence as a rejection. "Do you...not want to, anymore? It's okay if you don't..." He didn't sound like it was okay, and the happy smile had turned into a depressed one.

Sasuke let out a breath, and then: "It's not that."

Naruto flinched, as though he'd expected an insult. "Then...?"

Sasuke sighed, resigning himself to the mortification that seemed inevitable. "I just..." He curled his hands in his lap, staring at the keys. "I- I don't like-" He twisted his mouth, wondering if there was a way to say it without sounding stupid. "I hate not finishing."

"What?" Naruto sounded so shocked that Sasuke turned back to him. "_That's _the problem?"

"Forget it," Sasuke said, embarrassed and irritated that Naruto was so unpeturbed. "It's stupid, just-"

Naruto kissed him again. "Why," he muttered between kisses, sounding upset and needy, "didn't you just say that?" He gave the shoulder he was cupping a squeeze. "That's all it was? I thought you were gonna break up with me." He squeezed again. "Not that I would let you."

Unsure whether to be irritated or guilty at Naruto's reaction, Sasuke settled for letting Naruto kiss him, reassuring him with his lips and touches, that he wasn't going anywhere. After a minute, he pulled away. "That's enough."

Naruto whined, trying to follow his mouth, pressing their shoulders together awkwardly. "It's really, really not." He huffed, sitting back but keeping his eyes on Sasuke's mouth. "What is it now? You said..."

"This is hardly the place." Sasuke glared. "Anyone could walk in."

"No one's here," Naruto replied. "The whole building is empty, even the cleaners already left. It's just us."

"It's awkward," Sasuke said, feeling like every part of his body that was brushing up against Naruto was buzzing with energy, and he wasn't sure he liked it. "You can't kiss someone when you're sitting next to them."

At this, Naruto twisted his head slightly, seeming to notice that he had been holding it awkwardly to meet Sasuke's mouth. "Oh. Alright."

"Right." Sasuke felt his stomach clench and stood up. Naruto stayed sitting for a minute, glaring at the bench, until Sasuke closed the lid of the piano a little louder than necessary, and he jumped up at the sudden noise. He just blinked at Sasuke for a few seconds, until, frustrated, Sasuke turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Naruto was suddenly at his side, gripping Sasuke's forearm to stop him from leaving.

Sasuke stared at him in disbelief. "Back to the dorms." Hadn't they just discussed this? Was Naruto so aroused by the kissing that all the blood had already left his brain?

Apparently catching on, Naruto's eyes widened and he nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, yes. Dorms. Good. Yes." Not letting go of his grip on Sasuke, he made a beeline for the door, pulling Sasuke with him for two steps until Sasuke wrenched his arm away and cuffed him on the head. "Ow, what?"

"You're a moron."

"H-hey!" Naruto paused at the door. "You can't say stuff like that!" He made a face. "You think I want to fool around with you so much that you can call me whatever you want?"

"Yes." Sasuke wasn't even teasing him. It was a genuine belief. Naruto scowled, then sagged, shooting Sasuke a dirty look and leaving, letting the door swing shut on Sasuke's face.

"Fine," Naruto said when Sasuke joined him in the hallway, amused. "I'm gonna let that slide today. But only," he added with dignity, "because I am sick of taking cold showers three times a day."

Snorting, Sasuke followed him when he stalked off, feeling giddy that he wasn't the only one frustrated beyond belief. Naruto glared at him when he caught up, a funny look that seemed caught halfway between annoyance and desire, and Sasuke nearly laughed out loud.

"I cannot believe that's all it was," Naruto said as they trekked across the quad. "You know, I actually asked Miss Haruno for relationship advice?"

"What?" Sasuke's amusement gave way to alarm. "iWhy/i?"

"You weren't talking to me," Naruto said, then noting Sasuke's expesssion, added: "Don't worry, I told her it was for my a friend of mine that lives in Australia."

"Right..." Sasuke took a moment to digest that. "And what did she say?"

"She said that communication was the key. Which just goes to show that she didn't know it was about us."

"Right." Sasuke interest in the conversation petered out as he noticed they were getting closer to the dorms.

"I thought it was...What's the word?"

"Subtle?" Sasuke said as they reached their floor.

"Yeah, subtle. Very suave."

One of the boys living on their floor walked past them, nodding as he went. It was amazing, Sasuke thought, how he could be so bubbling with a mix of excitement and nerves, and still look apparently so calm that the tension wasn't completely obvious to an onlooker. Or perhaps, Sasuke considered, they just didn't expect two of their classmates to be hooking up behind closed doors.

And then suddenly, Naruto was hesitating at the door to his room. "I... Let's go to your room." He carried on down the corridor.

"You should really get into a habit of changing your sheets weekly," Sasuke said when they got to his door.

"I ido/i," Naruto said, face red. "I just forget sometimes. And you're so picky about stuff, and if we're actually gonna- you know. Besides," he followed Sasuke into the room, slipped off his shoes, and collapsed on the neatly made bed face first, inhaling deeply. "Your bed smells nice."

Sasuke didn't know what to say to that. Just the idea of what they were going to do was making him hard, and Naruto had finished with the pillow and wriggled onto his back, thoroughly messing up Sasuke's sheets. He was smiling in a way that made Sasuke's mouth dry and made something pulse through him, settling low in his stomach. Naruto had one hand resting lightly on his belly. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at it, taking one, two, three steps forward, resting one knee, then the other on the bed, shifting until he loomed over Naruto and replaced the hand with his own, spreading his fingers and smiling as the muscles twitched under his palm.

Unwilling to wait for Naruto to say something stupid and ruin the mood, Sasuke leaned down and pressed their lips together in a kiss that lingered, and then as if on signal, deepened into something more desperate.

Sasuke felt hands move up from his arms to wind around his neck, pulling him down so he fell a little heavily, and trapping him when he tried to push himself up. Naruto clearly didn't want there to be any space between them, and Sasuke had no problem conceding. As soon as he was satisfied that Sasuke wasn't going anywhere, Naruto set to work on pushing his shirt off and then tackling the teeshirt below. He only got halfway before becoming distracted by the skin suddenly available and clamping his hands on Sasuke's sides, hot and eager. Irritated by the way the material bunched between them, Sasuke first tried to pull it back down, and upon encountering vicious resistance from Naruto, pulled it the rest of the way off. From the way Naruto immediately switched his attention from Sasuke's mouth, to his now exposed collarbone, his appreciation was clear.

It was strange, kissing like this. When they both knew that they weren't _just _kissing, this time. They were building up to something else. They both knew it, and they both wanted it. And apparently, Sasuke concluded, feeling his thoughts grow hazy, eyes already closed and body hypersensitive to every brush of Naruto's fingers against his ribcage, they were going to get it.

And then, suddenly, Naruto had slipped a hand between them, awkwardly unbuckling Sasuke's belt and flicking open the button. Sasuke stilled at the unfamiliar contact and flinched back when Naruto curled a hand around him, warm and too uncertain to put Sasuke at ease. The jarring touches set him on edge, and for a second Sasuke thought that maybe he shouldn't have pushed, maybe this was the kind of thing better left to dreams-

Then Naruto shifted closer, twisting his wrist and adjusting his grip, and the sudden pressure knocked away all other thoughts and sensations, replacing them with a pulse of desire that had him groaning. When he had thought about it before, the idea had made him flush with embarrassment, but he couldn't find it in himself to feel awkward; there was just no room in his mind. His attention was frantically divided between the painful pauses whenever Naruto changed his grip and trying to keep his breathing to a bare minimum incase it interfered with the rhythm.

When he came, Sasuke's breath caught, then spilled out in a low moan that he was barely aware of making, he was so immersed in the sensations thrumming through his body. After a few moments spent catching his breath, he opened his eyes, pushing his head up from Naruto's shoulder where it had fallen at some point. Naruto was grinning, and Sasuke realised belatedly that he had been watching the entire time. He scowled at him, flopping onto his side and trying not to analyse what had just happened. People did it all the time. It was normal and nothing to feel embarrassed about, Sasuke reassured himself. And even if it was messy and awkward now... It had been worth it. He could see himself doing it again without a doubt. Could see himself doing more than that.

After a few minutes: "My wrist hurts."

Sasuke blinked his eyes open to see Naruto, grin gone and replaced with a pout. He was fidgeting and glaring, but as Sasuke focused, he thought it probably had more to do with Naruto still being hard than his wrist being sore. Snorting, Sasuke propped himself up and leaned across, seeing no need for preamble at this point. Naruto yelped at the sudden contact, eyes wide and fixed on Sasuke's hand.

"Wrist feeling better?" Sasuke asked.

"...Don't stop." Naruto sounded desperate, and Sasuke could sympathise, so he tried to speed up as well as he could, pleased when Naruto let out a little whimper and his head fell back onto the pillow, eyes screwed shut. This part was a lot easier than he had imagined, even if his wrist was getting tired, and he could understand why Naruto had been staring at him before. Having Naruto like this... It was almost as fun as getting off, and a lot more fun than doing it alone.

Sasuke would have been more interested in the expression Naruto made when he came, if he hadn't been distracted. Irritated, he looked around for something to clean up, and seeing nothing, made to rise from the bed. A hand clamped around his wrist and he nearly lost his balance, practically falling on top of Naruto.

"Where are you going?" Naruto was still breathless, cheeks flushed, but alert. "You can't just leave!" He pulled Sasuke properly down, wrapping his legs and arms around him and trapping him. "That's not fair. You can't do that, and then leave!"

Sasuke gave up struggling, cringing as his chest fell back down, Naruto was wearing his shirt, but that didn't make it any better. "_Naruto._"

"Don't go." Naruto whispered into his neck.

"But I need to clean up." Sasuke said, starting to struggle again.

"Clean up later. Let me hold you for now."

"But it's going to dry-"

"Shut up and let me cuddle with you."

"You girl," Sasuke said, but it had no real sentiment behind it. He sighed. "Next time I'm going to put a towel next to the bed."

"A whole family of towels," Naruto mumbled next to his ear, sleep dominating his tone now he was certain Sasuke was going nowhere. Resigned, Sasuke let himself relax, and felt Naruto let out a puff of air against his shoulder, seeming to be almost asleep already. Sasuke could feel Naruto's chest below his going up and down, and with Naruto's limbs wrapped around him, it was like being surrounded.

Listening to Naruto's breaths, Sasuke felt oddly detached. As soon as Naruto fell asleep, he decided, he would get up and clean them both off. It was disgusting to just lie like this, and there was no way he could fall asleep without getting clean first. In a minute, he would get up and go to the bathroom. But for now Naruto was warm, and Sasuke was so tired, that it couldn't make a difference if he let his eyes fall shut and shifted his head to lie comfortably next to Naruto's on the pillow. Just for a second.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** This story is forty percent my beta, twenty percent me, and forty percent anything I have ever read. I take no credit.

**AN: **Seriously, sorry it took a billion years for this story to update. I've been working on future chapters for the sake of continuity. I hope no one got bored with waiting.


	9. June

**Seldom Woods**

_June_

"You absolute bastard." A punch to the shoulder made Sasuke jerk awake from the drowsy slumber he was in. The sun was somehow in his eyes, the duvet was far too hot, and he had no motivation whatsoever to move. "This is _your_ fault." Something landed on his face and he pushed it off, recognising it as a pillow. Sasuke groaned, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes to try and persuade them to focus. "All your fucking fault."

"Naruto?" Sasuke blinked as a shirt hit him, landing on his head. He pulled it off, vaguely recognising it as his own, and dropped it on the bed.

"Don't you 'Naruto' me!" At his desk, Naruto was half dressed, with his shirt untucked and his tie nowhere to be seen. He had his rucksack open in one hand, and was frantically searching the desk, tossing papers and textbooks around haphazardly. "Arg, where the fuck is my pen?" He stared at the desk for a moment, still not facing Sasuke. "A-ha!" lunging forward, he managed to drop his bag and an empty mug. "Got it." He held up the biro like a trophy. "Oh shit. My calculator. Where's my calculator?"

"Why do you need a calculator for a history exam?" Sasuke discovered his boxers on the side of the bed and slipped them back on.

"You don't get an opinion," Naruto said, turning on Sasuke and pointing and him. "This is your fault. You were supposed to destress me!"

"I did destress you," Sasuke said, trying not to look unnecessarily smug.

"No, you... you... _seduced_ me! And made me fall asleep!"

"And your selective memory strikes again." Sasuke discovered Naruto's tie curled up on the floor and tossed it to him, earning himself a glare. "Don't forget that."

"Yes_ mother_," Naruto said, slinging it around his neck and doing a messy knot, ignoring Sasuke's wince. He glanced at his watch. "Great, now I have eight minutes to get to the sports hall."

"How is that different from any of your other exams?" Sasuke asked, watching Naruto zip up the rucksack in violent jerks.

"Because this time, it is _your_ fault." Bag closed, he hauled it onto his back, gave Sasuke a parting glare, and left, slamming the door.

Sasuke yawned and decided to go back to sleep. 

* * *

Itachi called while Sasuke was trying to work out how he had got a correct answer to 6b, from an incorrect answer to 6a.

"How are your exams proceeding?" he asked, after the formalities were over.

Sasuke nodded, sketching a sharp angled square onto a corner of the paper. "Well. I have three left."

"Do you feel confident about the papers you've already sat?"

"They were okay." Sasuke wondered if Itachi wasn't simply recycling the phrases and questions that their father had once used on him. It wouldn't surprise him in the least.

"When is your last exam?"

Now shading his square in, Sasuke glanced at the timetable pinned to his noticeboard. "The sixteenth of June."

"And school finishes the following Friday?"

"Yes," Sasuke said. "There are awards ceremonies and things."

"I remember." A pause. "I'll leave you to it, then."

"Right. Bye." Sasuke ended the call and turned off the phone, staring at it with a frown, pen and questions abandoned. He was still staring at it and considering Itachi's words two minutes later, when Naruto barged in.

"Sasuke. Sasuke. Sasuke! Sasuke." He grabbed Sasuke by the shoulders and shook him. "SASUKE."

"What?" Sasuke pulled himself out of Naruto's grasp and glared, shoving him for good measure.

"I think I seriously messed up my history paper." Naruto flopped into Sasuke's newly vacated chair and covered his face with his hands.

"How did you mess it up?" Sasuke asked, not overly concerned. Naruto moved his hands so he could stare morosely at Sasuke.

"I think I wrote 'Uzumaki' for my first name and 'Naruto' for my second name. Or maybe I wrote them both in the same box. I don't remember!" All his features seemed to be pulled down in despair.

"...You're such a moron."

Naruto's head snapped up and he glared. "Hey, you're supposed to help me out here! This is serious. Life and death. My whole future could ride on this!" Anger over, he sank back into depression. "My whole life is going to be spent flipping burgers because I put my names in the wrong boxes."

"You are such a drama queen." Sasuke rubbed a hand over his eyes. "The teachers will notice if there's that sort of a mistake on the papers and it'll get corrected. Millions of students sit exams every year. You think there's no fall back for mistakes like that?"

"O-oh." Naruto blinked, then seemed to collapse back, limbs going loose. "Thank _god_."

Snorting at Naruto's antics, Sasuke cuffed his head lightly, mouth twitching into a smile when Naruto acted as though he'd been maimed. "Ow, you fucker. You're supposed to be comforting me."

"It's tough love," Sasuke said, deadpan.

Naruto gave him a considering look. "You know what would really make me feel better..."

Sasuke cuffed him again. "Don't push it." 

* * *

The sports hall was freezing, despite the sunshine outside. It was always sunny on the last day of exams, Sasuke thought. The room was set up with rows and rows of one person, fold away tables, paired with grey plastic chairs. Sasuke's chair wobbled and had gum stuck to the underside of it. Sasuke's table was made of brown wood and someone had drawn a shark in the bottom left hand corner, chasing a penis with legs.

There were thirty minutes left and Sasuke had only one question yet to do, but it was a difficult one. He took a deep breath, turning the page and reading through the information provided. Having identified the type of question and the best method, he began jotting down calculations, pausing a few times to gather his train of thought.

"Ten minutes remaining."

The invigilator's voice jolted Sasuke from his stream of consciousness, and he blinked, looking around at the students frantically writing. In front of him, Naruto was leaning back in a stretch, his hands nearly reaching Sasuke's place. Other students looked less confident, hurriedly flipping through their answer books.

Finishing his answer, Sasuke frowned, going through the working again, unsatisifed.

"Please put down you pens, the exam is now over."

Swallowing, Sasuke laid down his pen and closed the answer book, using a treasury tag to secure it to the question paper. One of the maths teachers came round and took the paper, leaving Sasuke to wait to be dismissed. He felt restless, adrenalin from the exam still high in his blood. He waited until his row was dismissed and then left, grabbing his bag at the entrance, his steps light.

Outside, students stood in clumps, discussing the paper and laughing.

"...part b of question six? Did you use the trapezium rule?" Sasuke overheard as he left, walking through the sunny courtyard and feeling the chill leave his bones. He let out a long breath.

"FREEEEDOM!" Naruto jumped on his back and let Sasuke take a few staggering paces before taking pity and getting off. Then, as if to make up for it, he repeated, directly into Sasuke's ear: "FREEEEDOM." A quick elbow to his gut shoved him back a few steps and gave Sasuke room to glare.

"I heard you. It's like you make it your aim to be as loud as possible."

"Aww, you're grumpy!" Naruto said it like it was the best thing in the world. "Exams are over! Don't be grumpy! Smile! Like this!" He grinned, showing his teeth and pointing to the grimace. "See?"

"I'm not grumpy," Sasuke said, turning away and heading back towards the dorms, suddenly exhausted.

"Hey, hey, just a second," Naruto said, pulling him back, and Sasuke grit his teeth, irritated. "What are you doing later?"

"I want to sleep for the next forty eight hours," Sasuke said. Amused, Naruto ducked his head, hiding his smile slightly.

"Right, right." Naruto glanced around, catching sight of something behind Sasuke and waving. "You take a nap. I'll come by around six, yeah?"

"Whatever." Sasuke shrugged away from Naruto, giving him a wave to show he wasn't angry.

His dorm room was warm from the sun, but strewn with papers and clothes. A broken protractor sat on his upturned laundry basket, and his duvet was bunched up at the bottom of his bed instead of pulled neatly across. Sasuke opened the window and located his waste paper basket which had rolled under the bed and set to work making a pile of papers that he didn't need. Amongst past papers and notes, he found a drawing of a dragon breathing fire over a tiny village that Naruto had done, and paused to stick it on his noticeboard.

When the pile was made, he cut out all the staples and made a pile for recycling, then replaced all his dirty clothes in the laundry basket and made the bed. Satisifed, Sasuke gave his room a once over, and deemed it appropriately tidied. He flopped down, heaving a sigh and let his eyes close.

After a minute, he turned onto his side.

Then onto his back.

Then onto his stomach.

Finally, he sat up, leaning his elbows on his knees, and stared around the room. He got up and looked out of his window but couldn't see anything, and Naruto's window was closed: he wasn't there.

Sasuke pulled his duvet straight again, taking time to tuck the corners down until it was perfectly parallel with the wall and floor. He took his phone out from the drawer he kept it in and turned it over in his hands a few times, but left it off and replaced it.

He put a pen that was lying on the desk into his pencil case and shut it. Then, sighing, he got up from his desk and went back to the bed, closing his eyes, taking even breaths, and willing his mind to clear. 

* * *

It was around sunset when a knock at the door woke Sasuke. He had been dozing, feeling too warm as the sun hit his body, but too drowsy to do anything about it, and the knock roused him. As he sat up, the knocking resumed, and was accompanied by a few well timed slaps to the door, creating a makeshift beat.

"I have a surprise for you," Naruto said when Sasuke opened the door.

"No alcohol," Sasuke said immediately, even while noticing that Naruto carried nothing.

"Drinking with you is fun, Sasuke," Naruto said, waggling his eyebrows to leave no doubt as to what he was implying,. "But that's not what I had in mind." He walked past Sasuke and turned on the laptop at his desk, settling on the seat. "What were you doing? Sleeping?"

"No," said Sasuke.

"You were sleeping," Naruto said. "I know that hair." He gave it a considering look, then grinned as the laptop booted. "Hey, log yourself in."

Frowning, and then frowning more when he was ignored, Sasuke typed in his password and pressed enter. "We're not looking up porn."

"You are full of fun ideas," Naruto said. "We should totally do that. Plus, you have all that fancy antivirus stuff on your computer so we don't have to worry about cyber-STDs." He noted Sasuke's expression. "Maybe another time."

"How is you looking through my music a surprise for me?" Sasuke watched as Naruto glanced through, occasionally clicking and then scoffing as it played through the speakers.

"You didn't expect it, did you?" Naruto said, not paying much attention. "Why is your music all so..." he trailed off, clicking on a new album. "Okay, this is better."

Sasuke cringed at the beat that came through the speakers. "Hey, don't do that-" Naruto shrugged him off, turning the volume up so loud that the edge of the sound went tinny and Sasuke had to raise his voice to be heard. "What the hell?"

"Your surprise!" Naruto said. Apparently satisfied, he left the laptop and went into the bathroom. Sasuke looked back at the computer and reached for the mouse. "Hey, stop that. Leave the volume alone."

"It's too loud," Sasuke said, but left the settings as they were, directing his attention to Naruto. "You're thirsty?" He nodded to the glass he was holding, filled sloppily with water so some had spilled down the sides.

"Not really," Naruto said. He put the glass down on Sasuke's bedside table, then sat down on the bed and patted the space next to him. "Come sit here."

Sasuke sat. He raised his eyebrows, waiting. "What?"

"Sasuke," Naruto said. He leaned forward, lips parted slightly, then seemed to catch himself. "You've been studying a lot." That sort of observation didn't really merit a reaction, Sasuke felt. "Like. A lot, a lot." Naruto paused to think. "More than me. And everyone else. Put together!"

"I doubt that," Sasuke said. "And anyway," he frowned, irritated at having to speak so loudly to be heard. "Anyway, exams are over now. No more studying."

"Yes! Freedom!" Naruto punched the air, and then returned to the subject at hand. "So I wanted to surprise you with something, since you've been working so hard."

"Are you just going to talk nonsensically for the next hour, with the music really loud? It's not very surprising, but it's very stupid." The speakers weren't very strong, so the music wasn't _that_ loud, and now that Sasuke had adjusted, he could hear fine, but it was still unpleasant.

"You are such an ass, you know that?" Naruto was grinning while he said it and giving Sasuke a fond look. Without waiting for an answer he leaned in for a quick kiss. "Lay back."

"Hm?" Sasuke opened his eyes, not at all displeased with the turn of events. He let himself be pushed back to lie on the bed and didn't complain when Naruto shifted to lie on top of him. "Been a while," he said, feeling Naruto press kisses to his jaw.

"'Cause you've been studying. You wouldn't even let me destress you," Naruto said, sounding offended.

"I wasn't stressed," Sasuke said, arching slightly as Naruto ran a hand down his side, fingers sneaking under his shirt. "Mmm..." He sighed and tilted his head back, giving Naruto room.

The bed creaked, and Naruto pulled away. Blinking, Sasuke frowned and propped himself up on his elbows. "What?" Naruto shuffled back, rested his palms on Sasuke's thighs, hot even through the material of his trousers.

"Let me," Naruto said simply.

"Let you what?"

"Surprise you."

Sasuke frowned, watching as Naruto took his silence as consent and moved to slowly unbuckle his belt. "What are you doing?" Sasuke scowled, shifting to dig his knee into Naruto's side. "This isn't-"

"I know it's not." Naruto loosened the belt, flicking the button open and pulling and Sasuke wanted to kick him again. "-will you stop squirming?"

"I'm not." Sasuke glared as Naruto ran his hands along the side of his thighs. "_What_ are you doing?" He tried to pull Naruto back up.

Naruto bit his thigh, just below the edge of his boxers, and Sasuke went very, very still. "Better," Naruto said, approving. He slid up slightly and considered Sasuke's belly button, before licking a line from it, down to his waistband. "You taste good."

"You..." _moron_ Sasuke tried to say, but it didn't come. Instead, he watched, eyes electric, as Naruto carefully slid off his boxers and gave Sasuke's erection a considering look. "_Naruto..._"

Naruto glanced up, apparently having been distracted, and grinned. "Sasuke." Catching Sasuke's eye, he lowered his head, blowing gently and smirking when Sasuke flopped back on the pillow. "Surprised?"

Sasuke growled as Naruto leaned back further, straining his neck to glare, then let a long, slow breath as Naruto took pity on him. He let out a little groan at the tight heat, breath catching when Naruto started to suck lightly. At his reaction, Naruto grinned, baring his teeth, and Sasuke flinched. "Watch it, moron."

"Sorry." Naruto didn't sound very sorry at all, but did seem to take more care, moving his tongue carefully and taking note on Sasuke's response. "Better?"

"Ha- just..." Sasuke struggled to breath, cast adrift somewhere between embarrassment, irritation, and overwhelming arousal. Unbidden, he suddenly felt the pressure increase dramatically, coiling inside, and mentally groaned; it was way too soon. "Naruto-"

Letting out a little hum which might have been acknowledgement, or just a desire to drive Sasuke insane with sensation, Naruto redoubled his efforts, making a surprised noise when a second later Sasuke tensed, then went boneless.

There was a cough, then Naruto reached for the glass of water, drinking it greedily and making a face. "I'm not saying that wasn't hot, but the taste..." He made another face. Sasuke was panting like he'd run a marathon. He wiped his forehead and felt sweat there.

"No one...said...you had to." Sasuke struggled to get his breath back, feeling as though his limbs were simultaneously floating and weighed down.

"I wasn't complaining." Naruto finished the water and put the glass back, flopping down next to Sasuke and watching him with an aura of smugness. "Totally worth it."

For a few minutes, Naruto said nothing, and Sasuke fell into an easy doze. The bed groaned and Sasuke felt a tongue make a swipe at his neck, before Naruto settled heavily against him, breath tickling across the wet patch he'd created. Sasuke ignored him for a few minutes, until he began fidgeting again.

"I'm tired. Just use your hand."

Next to him, Naruto went still, then punched him in the shoulder. "What the hell?"

At the noise so close to his ear, Sasuke flinched, shifting back. "Urg, moron. Not so loud."

"You're an ass, you know that? Such an ass..." Naruto shoved him, gently this time, before settling back down. An arm snaked around Sasuke's waist, and Sasuke shifted to allow it to rest more easily above his hip.

"Then stop fidgeting." Sasuke let out a breath, relaxing. Next to him, Naruto seemed to settle.

"Hey Sasuke?"

Sasuke let out a little groan, weighing up the idea of just rolling over and burying his face in the pillow. "Yeah?"

"That was fun, right?"

Flushing a little, Sasuke kept his eyes closed, tone deadpan. "Yeah, Naruto. That was fun."

"You like... doing stuff like that... with me?"

At this, Sasuke opened his eyes, fixing Naruto with an odd look. "Are you trying to get me to return the favour? Because I really just want to go to sleep-"

"No no," Naruto shook his head, the motion making his hair rub against Sasuke's nose. "I don't care about that. Although," he grinned, raising his eyebrows, "if you wanted to, I wouldn't complain-"

"If it's not that, then what is it?" Sasuke snapped. He wasn't really irritated, just tired. He wanted Naruto to get to the point.

"If you like this," Naruto blurted, then halted, groping for words. "Exams are over. We... have privacy. And time. Don't you ever think about doing other things?"

"Other..." The arm around his waist had tensed up, but then Sasuke was feeling pretty tense himself.

"Yeah. You know like... other things."

"Oh." Suddenly very awake, Sasuke cleared his throat. "Other things."

"I'm just saying." There must have been some dust in the air, because Naruto cleared his throat too. "If you wanted to do... other things. It's not like... I mean... We could."

"...Right."

"If - uh - if you wanted to," Naruto tacked on hurriedly. "Yeah."

Sasuke was acutely aware of the library book he had hidden under his bed. "...Okay." He swallowed. "Did you mean... now?"

"No!" Naruto partially sat up, then caught himself, lowering back down. "Not _now_. Just some time in the future. I... don't think we should plan, should we? We should just do it when it feels... right?"

"Okay," Sasuke said, slowly. Internally, he was wondering if Naruto had done any research. Surely he realised it couldn't be completely spontaneous? They needed... things.

Having cleared the air, Naruto seemed calmer, he'd closed his eyes again and his breaths were relaxed. Sighing, Sasuke willed himself to relax and follow suit. 

* * *

The photocopier hummed, green light moving along the scanner, and fresh copies printing out. Sasuke leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, waiting for it to finish. The photocopier room was empty, cluttered with paper and coffee cups on every surface and unbearably warm in the summer heat and pushing him towards drowsiness. His uniform was starting to feel uncomfortably hot and he pulled at the tie, irritated, trying to loosen it.

There was a creak, and Sasuke opened his eyes to see Miss Haruno enter the room, a file held loosely in one hand, her bag in the other. She was wearing a pale green blouse and teal skirt, made from a shiny material that gleamed when she moved and reminded Sasuke of a mermaid. She seemed far cooler and collected than he felt, and beamed when she saw him.

"Using the photocopier?" She shouldered her bag, gesturing to the whirring machine. Her engagement ring sparkled as it caught a shaft of light.

Sasuke nodded. "Another thirty to go, and I should be done."

"Ah, okay. I'll wait. The library photocopier is jammed and the technician has been promising to come all day, but I think everyone's caught the summer lethargy."

"It is nearly the last week," Sasuke said. Privately, he agreed with her wholeheartedly. It was through 'summer lethargy' that his maths teacher had tricked him into running errands all afternoon instead of lounging in the grass outside or playing an easy game of cricket, like the other final years.

His words seemed to trigger something, Miss Haruno snapped her fingers, putting down the file on a table and rummaging in her bag. "That reminds me." She pulled out two white envelopes, then paused, looking around the room. Considering, she put the envelopes down too and extended a hand. "Swear to secrecy, Sasuke?"

Surprised, and a little amused at the gesture, Sasuke nodded, shaking her hand. "I promise."

Half amused and half assured, Miss Haruno smiled, reaching again for the envelopes. "Good man. Although you've really finished school, so it's not technically improper. Well, not really." She gave him the envelopes and he turned them over to read the address, surprised when he recognised his name on one, and Naruto's on the other. "Go ahead, open yours."

Sasuke pulled out the card, taking in the embossed paper and gold calligraphy, then flicked it open for confirmation. "You're having an engagement party?"

"Engagement party, and leaving do, and baby shower, all thrown into one." She smiled as though conspiring with him. "I couldn't find a card that said all of those things though."

Sasuke checked the date, finding the flowery script difficult to read. "Tomorrow?"

"Yes, it's a bit short notice, but a hall booking came up, you know the stately home in the village? So I couldn't resist. I had to wait until your exams were over before I could give you two the invites, of course."

Giving her a grin, Sasuke nodded. "Of course."

"Anyway, I would love for you and Naruto to be there. You probably won't know anyone else, a few teachers perhaps. You'll pass on the invitation to him?"

"Sure." Sasuke put his invitation back in its envelope. "I'll let him know."

"Excellent." Miss Haruno smiled again, seeming younger than usual in her excitement. Or maybe, Sasuke mused, he was getting older. "And your photocopies are done." Sasuke glanced at the machine.

"They are." He picked up the papers, still warm from printing, and took the original out from under the lid. "It's all yours."

"Thank you." Miss Haruno moved to take his place at the machine. "See you tomorrow. 

* * *

"A party?"

"Yeah."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"And we're invited?"

"You've got the invitation, you can read it yourself." Sasuke leaned against the wall, feeling cool tiles through the material of his shirt.

"That's cool." The sound of running water was abruptly cut off. "Do you think anyone else is invited?"

"She said a couple of teachers, but I think it's just us amongst the students." A boy from the year below walked past, nodding at Sasuke before leaving, door swinging shut behind him.

"Hmm. I think it's nice." Naruto's voice sounded muffled. "That she invited us. But it sucks that she's leaving."

"So are we."

"I guess." Naruto reappeared, towel wrapped around his waist and while he used another one to dry his hair, the blond darkened by water and sticking up in asymmetric tufts. "We're going, right?"

Sasuke nodded. "Seems polite, since she invited us. It's near the village, in the grounds of the stately home there."

Having disappeared between rows of lockers, Naruto hummed, the noise echoing around the almost empty room. Sasuke followed the sound, finding Naruto spraying on deodorant liberally. He wrinkled his nose. "I hate that stuff."

"Sorry." Naruto shrugged. "I'm out of the one you like. Want me to wash it off?"

"Don't bother, it's fine." He took a seat on the wooden bench between the lockers, watching as Naruto took his clothes out of his locker. "You're taking ages. Everyone else has already gone."

"All the better to give you a private show," Naruto said, throwing a wink over his shoulder as he stepped into his boxers. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Or maybe because you're the only one that thought they should enter six events."

"I did win five of them." Naruto's head appeared through his shirt, covering up the expanse of skin Sasuke had been studying.

"You _were_ the only entrant in two of them."

"Still. It was nice of you to watch. A nice-boyfriend thing to do." Naruto fiddled with his tie, half of his collar sticking up, and the other half folded down. Irritated, Sasuke stood up and grabbed the ends from him.

"How can you do this every day and still make such a mess of it?" He looped it around Naruto's neck, pulling the ends forward. "And how do you know I was watching?"

"I could see you in the crowd. You were the only one not cheering." Naruto grinned as Sasuke adeptly knotted the tie and folded the collar down neatly.

"It's not like cheering would make you run faster." He took a step back. "I really don't like that spray." He frowned when Naruto leaned forward and kissed him. "Really."

"I believe you." Naruto moved back, looking down at himself. "Now what?"

"Trousers." Sasuke sat back down, then added, for good measure: "You moron."

"Yeah, gotta have those." Naruto tried to shake the creases out of his trousers, then put them on. He pulled his shoes and socks from his locker and sat down to put them on. "So... what are we going to wear to this thing tomorrow? I don't have a suit...do you think I need a suit?"

"Probably not. Just smart."

"Smart... Right. And do we have to get her something?"

"I doubt she'll expect it."

"Alright." Naruto grabbed his bag, pushing the locker shut with a clang. "You know, apparently I set a new record for the high jump."

"Congratulations. You're good at jumping really high. That's a skill that is absolutely useful in everyday life."

"Yeah, like sarcasm gets you UCAS points." 

* * *

"Hurry the hell up."

Naruto gave him a woebegone look from his mirror. "It's not my fault, Sasuke. My hair is against me. It's switched sides. Mutinied." He used both hands to try and flatten his hair, groaning when it sprang back into shape as soon as he moved away. "It hates me."

"Stop trying to comb it down then." Sasuke was crouched next to a cardboard box. Since Naruto had shown no signs of doing so, he was sorting through the various papers that littered the floor, forming tiny landslides where they'd overbalanced. "You really want to keep this stuff?"

"Yes!" Naruto snatched the paper he'd been holding and hugged it to his chest. "The memories, Sasuke!"

"Right." Sasuke grabbed the paper back and put it into a nearby folder. "I have no idea how you're going to get all this home."

"I'll just sit on it when I've finished packing." Naruto seized a comb and attempted to force his hair to part neatly. "Why isn't this working?"

"Just leave it, it's pointless," Sasuke said. "You can't possibly want to keep all these past papers. You should recycle them or something."

"Memories!" Naruto didn't even look away from the mirror.

Sighing, Sasuke flipped through the papers, trying to avoid putting away anything important. Naruto had a bad habit of leaving bank statements amongst Tomb Raider walk throughs. He paused at one paper, frowning. "Is this the one we did in class?" He held it up and Naruto glanced at it, then back to the mirror, uninterested.

"Yeah, I think." He dropped the comb. "Have you seen the gel?"

"No. You got full marks on it?" Sasuke pointed to the '100%' written in red on the top corner. "On your first attempt?"

"Uh... yeah? Aw damn, I need a tissue." He disappeared into the bathroom. "That's good, right?"

"Good..." Sasuke sifted through the mess, finding a few more papers, none with lower scores than ninety percent. "You got such high marks on all your papers?"

"Yeah?" Naruto didn't seem to understand what Sasuke was asking. "I mean, it's thanks to all your tutoring. After you showed me what I was doing wrong, I started getting much better scores. Let's just hope the real thing went this well."

"Yeah..." Sasuke put the papers to one side, trying to ignore the unwelcome dark feeling twisting around his stomach. He'd only managed one score about ninety on a past paper, and that had been a second attempt.

"Argh, this isn't working." Naruto's words knocked Sasuke out of his reverie and he stood up, watching as Naruto reappeared, hair spiked up as usual. "I'll just have to go like this." He stood in front of Sasuke. "Are you sure it's okay that I'm not wearing a suit jacket?"

"You don't _have_ a suit jacket to wear anyway," Sasuke pointed out. "Unless you want to wear your blazer."

"I could borrow one of yours." Naruto tugged at his navy sweater vest, fussing with the collar of his shirt beneath it.

"No you couldn't." Sasuke headed to the door and opened it. "Your shoulders are too broad, you'd ruin it." He scowled at the thought, unhappy to admit it. "Come on, let's go."

"Right, right." One more glance in the mirror and Naruto followed him out, locking the door behind him. "What time does it start?"

"Food is served at six, but the invitation says we can go at five." They left the dorms building, fortunately not meeting anyone on the way. Sasuke didn't want to explain where they were going.

"Oh shit." Naruto stopped as they exited the grounds. "I forgot the present!"

"I've got it." Sasuke held up the sparkly blue giftbag he was holding. "I put it with my card."

"Oh yeah..." Naruto wiped his palms on his trousers, and they carried on walking. "Do you think it's weird that you got her a card but no gift and I got her a gift but no card?"

"I didn't see the point of getting her a cuddly toy, at least a card expresses a nice sentiment."

"Pfft, you just wrote 'from Sasuke' inside it. Not exactly heartfelt."

"Because a generic teddy says so much more."

"Hey, it's not just any teddy. It's the one that looked the most like Sooper Nooto. This way, her kid can have one too!"

Sasuke groaned at the sheer stupidity and the two continued chatting casually as they reached the village and took the main road to the outskirts.

The stately home had a long gravelled driveway, lined with signs that declared it an official historical site. There were also smaller signs with arrows, pointing towards the garden where Miss Haruno's party was being held. As they got closer, a few other people arrived in cars, parking off before going through to the back.

"Sasuke... everyone's wearing suits," Naruto half whispered, half whined.

"You look fine," Sasuke said for the millionth time. At Naruto's distraught look, he added: "I like the sweater vest." Naruto didn't seem to know whether to look pleased, or remain worried, so settled for a surprised smile. The sun was out, and in his own suit jacket Sasuke was feeling uncomfortably warm.

Through the back door, the garden was revealed. Up near the house was a terrace, where drinks were being served. Beyond that was a wide expanse of lawn, yellowing slightly but neatly mowed, bordered by flowering hedges. A gazebo had been erected in the centre and various side paths flanked the area suggesting the full size of the grounds was much larger.

There were groups of people milling around, holding drinks and chatting. As Naruto had pointed out, most of the men wore suits, while the women were in floaty summer dresses.

Next to him, Naruto shifted. "Should we... get drinks?"

"Alright." Sasuke was grateful for a purpose, and also for Naruto's presence. Without Naruto, this would have been more awkward, he thought.

They took the few steps up to the terrace where two long tables had been set up with a selection of drinks laid out. Most of them were alcoholic, Sasuke noted. "Here." Sasuke blinked as a glass of apple juice was shoved in his direction, courtesy of Naruto who busied himself pouring a further glass, presumably for himself.

"Thanks."

Drink in hand, Sasuke felt a lot more purposeful and took a sip, watching the other guests mingle.

"Sasuke! Naruto! Oh, I'm so glad you two came." Sasuke turned, and tried to stop his jaw dropping in surprise.

"Miss Haruno! You look...amazing!" Naruto voiced his sentiments and received a smile from Miss Haruno while Sasuke tried to collect himself. She was wearing a frothy, lemon coloured dress, with swathes of crème and grey fabric covering her baby bump. Silver earrings dangled from her ears, matching a simple chain around her neck. Sasuke realised this was the first time he had ever seen her out of sensible work clothes. She looked a lot younger, and somehow a lot more pregnant.

"You two are looking smart too! Quite the pair of gentlemen." She gave a little laugh, watching them fondly.

"Um- We got you a present!" Naruto elbowed Sasuke who glared, then offered the giftbag to Miss Haruno. "I mean, I got the present, and Sasuke got the card, but they're in the same bag so..."

"That's so thoughtful, you didn't have to." Miss Haruno accepted the gift, taking out the card and reading it with a smile, then squeezing the toy bear Naruto had bought. "Oh, it's lovely. Thank you both."

"The bear is for the baby," Naruto said. Sasuke sighed and Miss Haruno bit her lip. "I mean. Obviously..."

"Thank you," Miss Haruno said again. "You've got drinks? They'll be food later on, and then some dancing I think. The band is just inside the gazebo-"

"Sakura! Come over here!" Miss Haruno paused, giving the boys an apologetic look. "I'd better go, I'll see you two later. Have fun!" She moved away, disappearing into a group of women who squealed and took turns pressing their hands against her swollen stomach.

"I think she liked the bear," Naruto said.

"Yeah." They walked down the steps onto the lawn. Sasuke put his hand in his pocket. "I can't believe her first name is 'Sakura'."

"I don't know, it's kind of fitting, don't you think? Pretty, too." Naruto seemed to have lost his nervousness and was looking around the grounds curiously.

"I guess. I just don't think it suits her. 'Sakura Haruno'. Sounds like a different person."

"How can it not suit her, it's- Oh hey, look, there's our maths teacher!"

Sasuke pushing Naruto's pointing finger down. "Yeah, it is."

"Wow." Naruto's eyes boggled. "It's so _weird_. He's not in school!"

As they walked closer to the gazebo, they started to hear music, the sound intensified as they ducked inside. There were a few chairs and tables set up with ornate centrepieces. In the corner, a swing band was playing. No one was dancing, but some people were sitting down and talking, or listening to the music.

"Do you think we'll have to dance later?" Naruto grabbed them a table and sat down. "I could do The Robot."

"Don't even joke about that." Sasuke took a seat next to him, putting down his glass.

"What? I'm good! I rule at The Robot!" Naruto scowled when Sasuke just gave him a look. Sasuke zoned out, watching the piano player, while Naruto continued his tirade on how good he was at The Robot and how Sasuke was just jealous. 

* * *

"I don't really know what to say, I'm not good at speeches." Miss Haruno gave everyone a nervous grin. "But I want to thank you all for coming, for your well wishes and gifts today, and for your friendships over the last few years. I'm going to miss you all terribly..." Her lips trembled slightly and she swiped a quick hand under her eyes. "Oh dear, it's just the hormones." She waved a hand at the chorus of 'aww's that rose up. "Anyway, I think that's all there is to say. Enjoy the rest of the party, and I hope to see you all on the dance-floor before the evening is out." There was a cheer and then clapping. Miss Haruno sat down, looking embarrassed, leaning to say something to a friend sitting next to her.

Sasuke turned to Naruto, and paused. "Are you crying?"

"N-no!" Naruto hastily rubbed at his eyes. "Just got some dust in my eyes or something..." His voice was gravelly. "Let's go for a walk." He was already standing up, pushing out of the gazebo, so Sasuke quickly followed him, grabbing his suit jacket from his chair.

Outside, Naruto seemed to have recovered from whatever bout of emotion he had been in the thrawl of. "Where do you want to go?"

"Let's just take one of these paths. There's supposed to be a big herb garden that they used to use for cooking and medicines and stuff. I want to see it." Naruto chose a path at random, the bushes and trees quickly forming a tunnel around them.

Raising his eyebrows, Sasuke followed. "You like plants?"

"Yeah, plants are cool," Naruto said, distracted. He grabbed at a succulent green leaf, rubbing its waxy surface before releasing it. "I've never had a proper garden though, so..." Trying to get to grips with Naruto's new mood, Sasuke let him take the lead, watching as he crouched next to a shrub with purple leaves, apparently studying it. "I read online that houses like this, old ones, imported a lot of their plants to show off that they were so rich or something, so lots of these plants were supposed to be living in tropical climates. But they still grow here. Isn't that weird? Even though the temperature is wrong, and they don't get the right water levels, and the humidity is different, they still manage to survive and flourish."

They had moved further away from the party, and Sasuke could barely hear anything except the caress of leaves and the chirp of birdsong. "You seem to really like gardening."

Naruto shrugged. "Sometimes I take books out of the library on it. I guess the information sticks."

The tunnel of trees ended and they stepped back into sunshine. "Is this the herb garden?"

"I think so." Naruto was crouched down by a border, a plant stem held carefully between thumb and forefinger so he could study the leaves. "I think this is sage." He shifted his weight to the side, breaking off a leaf from another plant. "And this is mint." He handed the leaf to Sasuke who immediately caught the scent, though with a wilder edge than the type he was used to. As Naruto stood, admiring a plant with delicate white flowers, Sasuke watched a bee drowsily land on a lavender bush. When he looked at Naruto, he was surprised to see Naruto was looking at him, a grin on his face.

"What?"

"Nothing. Come on."

They walked leisurely around the garden, Naruto commenting on this plant or this flower, stopping to make Sasuke look at something, asking what this smell reminded him of: 'it's pear drops, right? The old-fashioned kind'. Sasuke found himself forgetting they were at a party, enjoying the calm, the quiet. He felt a little cheated, however, at Naruto's enthusiasm for gardening. Where had he been hiding this passion? Why hadn't Sasuke known?

"It says there's a maze this way," Naruto said, reading a worn plaque on the stone wall surrounding the grounds. "Want to try?"

"Sure." Sasuke followed Naruto, who followed the signs, and they found themselves standing in front of a dense hedge of holly.

"The opening's here." Naruto stood in front of the gate. "But I can see the centre. What kind of a maze is this?"

"It's so you can cheat if you want, and just walk straight in. And so you can get out at the end. Here, we're supposed to use this entrance." Sasuke stepped in, immediately surprised by how narrow the pathways were. Here and there, there were cobwebs, or jutting holly branches.

"Okay! Which way should we go?" Naruto scrambled past him, looked at the forking path. "I know, this way." He set off down the left path, leaving Sasuke to follow him.

Naruto chose paths arbitrarily, following his guts, he told Sasuke. Within a few minutes, Sasuke was having trouble keeping track of the route they were taken and quickly gave up, just letting Naruto lead. Occasionally they would spy the centre and try to move towards it, but it always ended up taking them further away, or to a dead end.

"I think we're close," Naruto said for the fifth time, stopping short as his sweater vest got caught on a sprig of holly.

"You've said that before." Sasuke stepped forward to pull the thread free, pushing the branch out of the way as he passed.

"Which means we must be _really_ close by now!"

"Right." Sasuke grabbed Naruto's collar, pulling him back, and stepped past him. "I think I should navigate."

"It's a maze, Sasuke. It's not like having a good sense of direction is going to help," Naruto grumbled, but fell into step behind him anyway."Miss Haruno looked really pretty today, don't you think?"

At the sudden change in topic, Sasuke gave him a blank look. "Yeah?"

"You look nice too," Naruto added hastily, walking too fast and bumping into Sasuke's back, earning another look. "But um. Not pretty. Just. Good."

"Thanks." Sasuke felt it best not to turn around. "I think this is it." They turned a corner and the narrow path opened up into a small circular clearing, bordered by flowerbeds. There were two stone benches on either side of a sundial in the centre. At one end was the gate, indicating that whenever they wished, they could leave directly.

"Told you I was going the right way," Naruto said under his breath, moving past Sasuke to look at the flowers. Behind him, Sasuke took a seat on one of the benches, after glancing at the sundial. He felt a little tired, and when he sat down he let out a deep breath and closed his eyes. The sunshine was warm.

There was a crunch of gravel and when he opened his eyes, Naruto was sitting next to him, leaning back on his hands and smiling. "This is nice."

"Yeah." The stone bench was hot under his palms, and it felt like the warmth was seeping into his bones.

"Hey," Naruto leaned towards him, then picked something off his shoulder. "You have a tiny spider friend." He showed Sasuke the nearly invisible creature that was frantically scurrying along his fingers, before depositing it on the floor and brushing off his hands. "There." He brushed off Sasuke's shoulder too, a bit unnecessarily, Sasuke thought. Then the hand that had been brushing stopped, cupped Sasuke's shoulder instead, and Naruto leaned forward to align their lips.

"Naruto..." Sasuke started, planning to finish with 'not now', but then Naruto moved away, pressed his forehead against Sasuke's and smiled.

"This is nice," he whispered again. He seemed so happy that Sasuke didn't pull back when he moved in for another kiss, instead he pressed back, ran a hand up to grasp at Naruto's arm. At some point Naruto had rolled his sleeves up, and Sasuke felt warm skin under his palm. One of Naruto's hands was in Sasuke's hair, and the other was settled on his knee, not moving, just squeezing from time to time and sending pleasurable jolts through him. To get better access, Naruto shifted, straddling the bench and leaning across, and Sasuke moaned softly at the change in position, approving greatly. He slipped a hand under Naruto's shirt, sliding his palm up his side and smiling into the kiss when Naruto shivered.

Then there were footsteps, murmured voices and the creak of the gate as it swung open. Sasuke froze, trying to distangle himself from Naruto and knowing he wasn't going to manage in time.

"...not cheating, I just want to see what the centre looks like, we don't have time to-" Naruto's mouth disconnected from his with a little sound, just as Miss Haruno entered the garden and stopped abruptly.

Sasuke felt something cold settle in his stomach. He heard Naruto take a breath, as if to speak, and distantly wondered what Naruto thought he could say to remedy the situation.

The gate swung open again, and a fourth person enters the garden, stopping behind Miss Haruno. He was older than Naruto and Sasuke, and didn't seem surprised to see them.

Miss Haruno's cheeks were flushed. "Naruto... Sasuke. I... I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"They're the Naruto and Sasuke you're always talking about?"

"Y-yes. But, I don't think this is a good time." Miss Haruno had lowered her eyes and Naruto and Sasuke moved away from each other in awkward, jerky movements. Sasuke swallowed, and from the corner of his eye saw Naruto tug his sweater vest back into place. Miss Haruno glanced at them both, seemingly at a loss. "I'm sorry," she tried again.

"Don't worry," Naruto tried to laugh it off, rubbing the back of his head and grinning. "It's not a big deal."

"We're leaving," Sasuke interrupted, tone blank, he stood, shoes crunching into gravel, and started walking towards the gate, feeling as though his joints were stiffening with every movement.

"I- you..." Miss Haruno seemed at a loss. "The party..."

"Err, thanks for inviting us," Naruto said, scrambling to his feet and after Sasuke. "It was nice, really nice, um. Good luck and..." He paused, stumbling to a halt, a frown on his face. Undeterred, Sasuke continued forward, reaching the gate before he looked back to see what was keeping him.

"Naruto." He paused for a second, one hand on the gate, then viciously tugged it open and strode through. Behind him he heard Naruto's hurried goodbye and then footsteps that caught up to him coupled with a punch in the shoulder.

"You dick, what the hell? We won't see her again after this!"

"So?" Sasuke shrugged away from the grip Naruto had on his shoulder and stalked away, straight through to the main garden, past the gazebo and towards the exit.

"So?" Naruto echoed. "So I wanted to say goodbye properly, and instead you dragged me away!"

"I didn't drag, you're more than welcome to go back there and commence with an overly emotional display."

"Will you freaking look at me? Sasuke! What is your problem? Didn't _you_ want to say goodbye?"

Naruto reached for Sasuke's shoulder again and this time Sasuke turned around, ripping away from the contact. "Are you stupid?" He shook his head, disbelieving. "She _saw us_. Together. She _saw_.

"Well yeah," Naruto's tone softened slightly and he heaved a sigh. "That wasn't the best way for her to find out, but so what? It's not like she's going to tell anyone, and even if she did, who cares? School's over, what's the big deal?"

Sasuke grit his teeth, running a hand through his hair. "What's the- I cannot believe you." He turned back, slipping out of the gate and down the drive. After a few seconds, he saw Naruto fall into step next to him. Sasuke expected him to speak, but he stayed silent through the walk back to the school. Only once they were leaving the stairwell towards their rooms did he break the silence.

"Didn't you see her face?" His voice was soft. "How could you leave things like that?"

Sasuke couldn't remember what Miss Haruno had looked like as they left. He remembered the look of surprise when she entered the garden, the unpleasant jolt in his stomach, and the shattering as something that had been so close to perfect became irreversibly tainted.

Naruto was still looking at him expectantly, and for a second, Sasuke wanted to hit him. What right did he have to expect _anything_ from Sasuke? "Well?"

Sasuke unlocked his door and stepped inside, giving Naruto one last look. "Who cares?" he asked bitterly, before closing the door. 

* * *

"You're avoiding me."

Sasuke didn't pause in unloading the clothes from the dryer, shaking out the creases before folding them into a white laundry basket on the floor. "I've been busy."

"Like hell. We haven't got any classes, we haven't got any exams. You're not _busy_." Naruto stood at the bottom of the steps that led down into the laundry room, arms crossed. "You're avoiding me."

"I'm getting my things ready. Packing." Sasuke gave a shirt a particularly violent shake, folding it over once before dropping it into the basket. "You ought to do the same."

"Sasuke." The towel he had been folding was yanked out of his grip and tossed onto a nearby machine.

"I was folding that."

"Forget about the towel," Naruto snapped. "Why are you acting like this?"

"I told you, I'm busy."

Naruto ignored him, stepping closer. "You haven't spoken to me properly for days. Not since..." A hand rose, cupping Sasuke's jaw, warm and unwelcome. "Sasuke?"

He stepped backwards, away from the touch. "Did you want something?" His tone was flat.

Squaring his jaw, Naruto swallowed before speaking. "I heard some teachers talking, Miss Haruno's stopping by to pick up some things. We could catch her, say goodbye properly, you know?"

Sasuke took his time before speaking, pulling out the last piece of laundry and folding it with the rest. "If you want to, you can go see her."

Huffing, Naruto moved to block him as he tried to leave. "I'm telling you so that _you_ can see her."

"And I already told you, I don't care." Sasuke stood patiently, waiting for Naruto to move away from the doorway and let him pass.

"Come on, Sasuke." Naruto ran a hand through his hair, irritated. "You'll regret it if you leave things like this." When Sasuke said nothing, just adjusted his hold on the basket, Naruto glared. "Sasuke!" He looked one step away from punching him.

Sasuke took advantage of his temper tantrum to side step him and walked up the steps. "That's my lookout then, isn't it?"

* * *

Sasuke swore when he noticed the time, and took the last few steps a little more briskly. He had been trying to find one of his books amongst those piled on the common room bookshelf and lost track of himself. As he reached the top of the staircase, he let out a little sigh of relief at seeing the hallway empty. He was due to meet Itachi in three minutes, and his brother was very rarely late.

He smoothed his hair back from his face, tugging the dark shirt he wore down a little, and checking it hadn't creased itself. At his door, he reached into his pocket for his key, then paused, hearing familiar voices within the room. With a frown, Sasuke twisted the door handle and let it swing open.

The occupants of the room looked up as he entered, one ignoring his glare and one shooting a similar look right back. "Welcome back, Sasuke. You have some interesting friends."

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke closed the door behind him, taking two steps in. Itachi stood by his for the most part cleared desk, apparently looking through one of the folders he'd left there. Naruto was sitting on the bed with a defiant expression, feet planted on the floor and clearly a little ill at ease.

"Waiting for you, of course. I wanted to let you know something's come up, and I won't be able to pick you up until this evening." Itachi didn't seem to notice the way Naruto's glare intensified, or how Sasuke avoided meeting his eyes.

"Why didn't you call?" Sasuke asked, putting the issue of Naruto aside for the moment.

"You left your phone off, and I didn't want to trouble the overworked staff, so I thought I'd just stop by myself." That was a lie, because Sasuke's school wasn't near anywhere Itachi could have been headed, infact the whole story was probably fabricated to give Itachi the chance to poke around in Sasuke's life. Well, he certainly hit the jackpot with Naruto. Distantly, Sasuke felt a swirl of panic as he tried to consider what they could have been talking about.

"Right," Sasuke said slowly, turning to address Naruto. "And what are you doing here?"

Naruto raised his chin, looking Sasuke in the eye. It reminded him of an animal that knew what it was doing was wrong, but it was going to do it anyway. "You've been ignoring me, so I was waiting for you to come back."

Sasuke couldn't help but shoot a quick look at Itachi, who appeared to have become temporarily deaf and continued leafing through the papers. "Well, I'm busy, so save it."

"Don't let me disrupt you." Itachi chose that moment to regain control of his hearing. "Like I said, I'm just stopping by. Infact, I'll be leaving right now. I should be back around seven." With that, Itachi gave Sasuke a nod, Naruto a small smile that could have meant anything, and swept out.

Sasuke rounded on Naruto the second the door closed. "What did you tell him?"

"When were you going to tell me you're leaving?" Naruto returned just as swiftly. He was angry, Sasuke could see, but behind the veneer was hurt. When Sasuke said nothing, Naruto scowled, looking out of the window. "Your brother seems nice."

"He's not." Sasuke took in Naruto's obstinate expression, trying to figure out how to get him to leave, he didn't want to deal with this. "Is this about Miss Haruno again? Because I told you-"

"It's not about her." Naruto cut him off. "We're a bit past that now, I think. Since you were planning to leave without telling me." Naruto glared again. "What if I hadn't been waiting here? What if Itachi hadn't been busy this afternoon? Would you have just gone without saying anything? Does our- this- thing, mean so little to you that you're willing to give it all up just because someone found out?"

"Can you quit shouting?" Sasuke snapped, even though compared to his usual volumes, Naruto was practically whispering.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Naruto cocked his head to the side, "am I being inconsiderate?" He shook his head, hands clenched. "I cannot believe you. After everything, you were just gonna take off."

"Get over it," Sasuke shot back, tired of this line of interrogation. "School is over, what did _you_ think was going to happen?"

"You said we'd still be friends. You promised."

"No," Sasuke said, tiredly. "I didn't. I never promised."

There was silence for a moment, but Sasuke fancied he could actually hear Naruto's outrage, ringing hollowly in his ears.

"Alright, fine." Naruto swallowed, trying a different approach. "Okay. I get it. I get that you didn't expect this, and that things are going to be different out of school, but you can't just ignore it and hope it goes away."

"Why not?" Sasuke felt his hackles rise as he threw the words at Naruto, who had no right to look so calm and put together. Since when was _he_ the smart, mature one? "What do you know? I'm so sick of this, you, and Itachi and-"

"Itachi?" Naruto blinked at him, side-tracked. "What does he have to do with this?"

"Just stop trying to act like you know everything about me," Sasuke snapped.

"It's not like this is easy for me either." Naruto stood, expression softening a little as he reached out to Sasuke. "I know you're scar-"

"Shut up." Sasuke knew that Naruto wouldn't, but he didn't want to listen anymore.

He did the first thing that came to mind, to make Naruto stop talking. And that was to kiss him.

Naruto's hands immediately came up to grab his shoulders, as if he'd been expecting the move. He let out a sound, half sigh, half groan, and fisted the material of Sasuke's shirt, pulling it taut. When Sasuke pushed him back, he went willingly, falling onto the bed and not complaining when Sasuke followed readily. Rather, he seemed eager, tugging Sasuke closer with one hand, another gripping his hair, guiding their kiss.

It was only when after the first few moments, the kiss didn't let up, the tempo increased, rather than decreased and Sasuke brought their hips together with a groan, that Naruto seemed to hesitate, pulling back slightly and then panting as Sasuke simply shifted to his jaw. "S-Sasuke?"

"Hm?" Sasuke paused, sucking on a patch of skin just below Naruto's jaw and grinning at the hiss he produced. This was more like it, he was back in control.

"W-what's gotten into you?" The end of the sentence was muffled as Sasuke abandoned Naruto's neck in favour of dragging off his teeshirt. "Sasuke!"

"You don't seem to be complaining." Sasuke dumped the teeshirt, following it swiftly by his own, and then moved his fingers to Naruto's zipper, deftly unbuttoning it before Naruto caught his hands, gasping for breath.

"I- You- Just, what are you doing?" This seemed like a pointless question, to Sasuke, so he just pulled his hands away from Naruto and resumed the task of getting his trousers off, growling with irritation when he was stopped again.

"What do you _think_ I'm doing?" Sasuke asked, disliking the return of conversation. Things had been going much better without talking, in his opinion. He scowled as one of Naruto's hands moved to cup his face, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

"Sasuke..."

He pulled back, pushing Naruto's hand down with his own, before rejoining their lips in a kiss, irritated when he had to coax Naruto out of his newfound hesitancy. "Come on," he muttered between breaths. "Isn't this what you want?" He grabbed Naruto's hand which was lying limp in his grasp and guided it to his waist. "Come _on_."

Naruto hesitated, recalcitrant for a moment, before tentatively gripping Sasuke's hip, opening his mouth. Sasuke could still feel the tension in his muscles, but it was an improvement. Impatient, Sasuke mouthed a tasty looking spot on Naruto's neck, pleased at the hitched breath he heard, and returned to tugging his zipper down.

"W-wait," Naruto rolled them over and pulled away slightly, panting. His cheeks were flushed, eyes hazy even while his brows pulled together in irritation. "We're supposed to be talking, I'm not stupid, I know what you're trying to do-"

"I don't want to talk. So do you want to do this, or not?"

"Of course I _want_ to," Naruto's scowl depended and he glared at Sasuke as though he were the source of all the world's problems. "You know that. But it's not going to solve anything, we need to-"

"So you're scared," Sasuke concluded, not bothering to hide the smile when Naruto glowered. "Should have known, scaredy-cat-" He jumped when Naruto punched the pillow next to his head, stilling.

"Quit it, quit acting like that." Naruto's voice seemed to shake in its intensity. "This isn't some stupid game."

"Fine. It's not." Sasuke shifted, jaw tensed. His hands were limp on the bed, feeling the cotton threads beneath his fingertips. "But school is over. We're over. And I'm leaving tonight." He paused, letting the words sink in. "So if you want- if we're going to do this, this is the last chance."

"You can't just say that! You can't just cut me off and think it's okay, that's not how it works." Naruto finished his tirade, and then, as if to further his claim, leaned back down for another kiss.

Sasuke stiffened at the abrupt turn, trying to puzzle out what Naruto was feeling as he returned the kiss. He groaned against Naruto's lips as their hips pulled together. He had expected Naruto to argue, to try and convince him. Maybe, he considered, as Naruto dropped kisses on his lips, his jaw, his neck, that's what he was doing.

A subtle frission of fear shot through Sasuke's veins, manifesting in a delicate shudder that was misinterpretted. Until now, he hadn't seriously considered Naruto would agree, it had been more about taking out his frustration, taking control and unsettling Naruto in the process. But now that his bluff had been called, Sasuke couldn't help wondering if this wasn't what he had been hoping would happen all along. The usual accompanying haze wasn't present, but even so, as Naruto's fingers crept across his stomach, Sasuke found himself eager - more so than he would have expected.

They had talked about it, hadn't they? Not exactly indepth discussions, but they'd considered it. And he'd got the book. He'd even made an extremely embarrassing trip to the pharmacy a few weeks ago. They were as prepared as they were going to be, so why not?

He arched back as Naruto nipped at his throat, the smooth slide of teeth at odds with soft lips, intensifying his focus on the sensation. The majority of their clothes had been discarded, and Sasuke relished the feel of skin against skin, something they rarely managed to achieve in their usual impatience. The fog of arousal that had descended had a sharper edge of anticipation; fear too, but the way they moved together was somehow comforting. For now, Sasuke pushed aside his fears, trepidations, hesitance, and let himself fall deeper into the familiar rhythm.

It seemed like hours later, his senses having narrowed to touch, taste, and sound, when Naruto pulled back, breathing heavily. He seemed confused for a minute, then sat up, swallowing. His lips parted, then closed, and he frowned, cheeks flushing a little. "I think we need... some things."

For a moment, Sasuke didn't understand what was being insinuated, then he blinked, clearing his mind slightly and nodded, slowly. "Yeah." He cleared his throat. "Lube... and condoms."

"I..." Naruto's flush hadn't receded, and he wasn't meeting Sasuke's eye. "I have Vaseline."

Sasuke froze slightly, frowning. "That... won't work." He wasn't sure what was puzzling him more, knowing that Naruto had thought about it, or knowing that he was still as clueless as ever. Before Naruto could interrupt, Sasuke added: "I have some Durex, just..." He pushed Naruto back a little more, then rolled off the bed, fumbling in his desk drawer and all the while feeling Naruto's eyes on him. He found the bottle and the box of condoms and brought them back to the bed, dropping the items to the sheets where Naruto knelt.

"Strawberry kiwi?" Naruto gave him an inquiring look, the side of his mouth pulled up in a grin. "Seriously?"

"It was that or sensitising," Sasuke said shortly. "It's no like you bought any."

"I thought we could use the Vaseline." Naruto crossed his arms.

"Well we can't," Sasuke snapped. Of all the people in the world to have sex with, why did he choose Naruto? For want of something to do, he opened the box of condoms and pulled out two, tossing one to Naruto. "Put that on."

Naruto dutifully opened the wrapper, observing the condom with interest. "Um," he cleared his throat. "Sasuke?"

"What?" All of a sudden, Sasuke felt that this entire thing was too embarrassing, too stupid to continue. He just wanted it to be over, wanted to get rid of this bright, loud, annoying person that continually upset his life.

"Who is doing.. I mean... how is this going to work?"

Sasuke had always assumed that they would sort of tumble from kissing and handjobs into sex, but the situation now seemed far more clinical. Trying for a facade of confidence, he reached for the lube and pumped out a glob into his palm, frowning at the coolness. "I'm going to stretch you."

"W-what?" Naruto scrambled back, even though Sasuke hadn't made any moves towards him. "That sounds painful. How are you going to know if you're doing it right? Have you ever done it before?" His expression flickered between apprehensive and suspicious.

"It shouldn't hurt..." Sasuke considered Naruto's alarmed expression for a moment. "You know how it works?"

"I read a few things online," Naruto admitted. "I know the basics."

"Then," Sasuke licked his lips nervously. Was he really about to offer this? "Then, you can stretch me." It came out as more of a demand than a question, but Sasuke decided he preferred that.

"Oh." Naruto seemed surprised at this. "Are you sure? I mean, I don't really mind, I just-"

"It's fine." Sasuke was tired of this pointless, embarrassing back and forth. He was pretty sure sex wasn't supposed to be like this. Realising he now had no use for the lube he had pumped out, he grabbed Naruto's hand, coating his fingers. When he looked up, Naruto was staring at him with a strange expression. "What? You're right-handed, aren't you?"

"Yeah..." For someone about to have sex, Naruto seemed awfully distracted.

"Then what is it?"

"Nothing." Before Sasuke could protest, Naruto pushed him down, painfully gently, to the bed and crawled on top of him, hovering indecisively. _At least we're getting somewhere now,_ Sasuke thought.

Naruto's expression was oddly solemn before he leaned down to match his lips with Sasuke's, drawing him into a slow, heated kiss. Meanwhile, one hand painted meaningless patterns on his abdomen, before dropping down to coax his knee up slightly. Sasuke's already strained breath hitched as he felt cool, slicked fingertips trail up the back of his thigh almost curiously, and he swallowed, trying to rid his body of the sudden tension it had created. All his efforts were voided at the first touch, overly intimate and intrusive, the lubricant making Naruto's fingers cold. Sasuke swallowed and broke the kiss, turning his head to press his face into the pillow.

Despite everything, Sasuke wasn't expecting it when Naruto's finger started circling his entrance hesitantly. He shut his eyes tight, unable to look Naruto in the face. It was mortifying. He felt completely vulnerable. _I should have made Naruto bottom,_ he thought, hips jerking as Naruto pushed in slightly. Every touch seemed to go too deep, too fast: unwelcome. Sasuke let out a shuddering breath he hadn't realised he was holding and tried to regulate his breathing, focussing on the cool sheets beneath his skin as a distraction from the jarring movements of Naruto's fingers.

After a few more hesitant movements, Naruto seemed to remember he had two hands, and attempted to comfort Sasuke, rubbing his arm reassuringly and pressing soft, closed-mouthed kisses to his shoulders and neck. It wasn't exactly distracting or arousing, but it gave Sasuke something else to focus on, and the motion was comforting, familiar. A pleasant counterpoint as Naruto pressed deeper and deeper, making Sasuke want to squirm away.

"Does it hurt?" Naruto sounded more breathless than he had any right to be, Sasuke thought, considering their positions.

"Not hurt." He forced his teeth to unclench in order to speak. "Just... not good."

"Oh." Naruto's brow furrowed. "It's supposed to feel good."

"And yet," Sasuke gritted out.

"Maybe if I try-"

Sasuke hissed in pain, eyes snapping open and nails digging into Naruto's shoulders when Naruto withdrew his fingers too quickly. "_Fuck._ A little warning, next time?" Naruto looked sheepish and dropped a kiss on Sasuke's lips in apology.

"Sorry, sorry," he hesitated, the thumb of his free hand rubbing against Sasuke's skin. "Do you want to stop?"

"Try again," Sasuke managed, hoping that it would be better now he knew what to expect. This time, the touch was less foreign, less hesitant, but still slow. It didn't stretch as much, and Sasuke supposed his muscles must have been loosening. As painful as it had been, at least it was working. He took a breath as Naruto's fingers ventured deeper, absently wondering how he felt about it all. Now that he had his eyes open, he could see that Naruto was watching him with a strange expression. "What?"

"It's just," Naruto paused, apparently thinking. "I'm _inside_ you. It's kind of weird, and kind gross, but also really..." He sounded oddly out of breath. "I've wanted this for a long time, but I didn't realise just how much... and now..." He trailed off again, and Sasuke wondered if he even really knew what he was saying. Instead of puzzling out what Naruto meant, he focussed on the push-pull motion of his hand, a lot more pleasant that the previous stretching. Now that he was familiar with the sensations, it wasn't so bad at all. Not really good, he still felt overly exposed, but definitely better. "Sasuke?"

"Hmm?" He realised he'd closed his eyes and opened them. "What?"

"Can I..?" Naruto glanced down between them and made a truncated gesture with his free hand.

"Right... Yeah." Sasuke swallowed as Naruto withdrew his hand. He stared at the ceiling, feeling momentarily cold as Naruto moved back, then repositioned himself.

"Ready?" His voice sounded hoarse.

"Yeah."

"...Sasuke?"

"What?"

"...Nothing."

* * *

"You're really crazy, you know that? If you think that after everything we've been through - you and me - I'm just gonna let you walk away. I thought you were over it. All your stupid barriers and commitment issues, I thought we'd gotten over that. Everything about you has to be some big mystery doesn't it? All about facing the world on your own, like you think being miserable all the time makes you a martyr. I kept thinking that eventually you'd open up and tell me. All about Itachi and your parents and the crash. It's not like I didn't know, everyone who knows your name here knows. Even some that don't. Everyone said you blamed him, that you worked hard and ignored everything around you so that you could beat him. I wanted to know why. I wanted _you_ to tell me. I waited and waited but you never did.

But that's okay, because I can wait as long as you want."

* * *

It was evening when Sasuke awoke. He hadn't really fallen asleep, just dozed, listening to the ticking of the clock, Naruto's breathing and his own, slow, steady heartbeat. Next to him, clutching the duvet and head curling into Sasuke's neck with his hair tickling his skin, Naruto slept. The way he slept, carefree, deeply, and somehow out of place amongst the dark sheets, made Sasuke remember the day they met, in the woods. The brightness of his hair against the crisp leaves, the calm, peaceful smile, the reckless abandon. He looked free. Alive. Warm, safe, foreign and different all at the same time. A million things that he was to Sasuke, that he would never know.

Sasuke turned to stare at the ceiling.

He knew the reason that Naruto had fallen asleep wasn't just because he was tired. It was because he believed he had proved his point. That in doing this, he had somehow shown Sasuke that his fears were unfounded, that pursuing their relationship was worthwhile. He believed that Sasuke would stay.

A sudden noise jerked Sasuke out of his reverie. He stared out of the window. It was starting to rain.

* * *

"I won't be able to see you as frequently from now on." Sasuke sighed, wondering how to phrase it, wondering if it even mattered. "Things will be changing, I have goals that I want- that I need to accomplish. I don't want anything to distract me." He kept his voice low, not wanting to be overheard. "I want to be stronger, better. And I don't think I can do that here. I don't know if you can understand, but," he took a breath, "it's my decision."

He lingered a few moments longer, feeling the cool drops of rain, breathing in the freshness and basking in the familiar sounds, the rustle of leaves and grass.

Finally, he turned away. "I'm done," he said, shortly.

"You can stay longer, if you like."

"No, I'm ready." Sasuke took a few steps, joining his brother on the path. "Let's go."

He left a thin bouquet of red carnations at the base of the tombstone. 

* * *

**AN: **This chapter was the reason for the huge delays. I'm sorry! It was just really long and really heavy, and I had a lot going on while I was writing it. The rest of this story, however, should be posted in the coming weeks! Thanks to everyone that's stuck around ^^.


	10. Hurting

**Seldom Woods**

_Part Two  
_

**October**

Hey Dickwad,

I hope this letter gets to you. I don't know your exact address, so I'm just sending it to your university, but I put on your department and what year you're in, so hopefully it'll end up with you. Also I can't really work out how the postage system here works exactly, and the dudes in the post office were giving me a hard time when I tried to ask, so you might have to pay extra or something at your end. Sorry about that.

Also I don't have any paper. I'm writing this on the back of a flyer advertising an open exhibition next week at one of the museums here. I did bring a whole pad of paper to write to you on, but I must have taken it out when I was looking in my backpack for my camera to take a picture of this funny looking squirrel, and then maybe forgot to put it back in.

I'm in Rome at the moment, which you probably can tell from the postmark, and the fact the flyer is written in Italian. I flew out last week, and I've been milling around the city, visiting monuments and stuff. I took a coach to Florence which was really pretty. Lots of flowers and stained glass windows and stuff. I went to an open air concert too which I loved, music should be played outdoors more, definitely.

So.

I'm really, really angry with you right now. That's the reason it took me so long to write, I didn't know what to say. I'm so furious, if you were here, I'd punch you straight off. I also miss you like crazy. God, I miss-

I don't want to write anymore, it's too difficult, so I'll end this here.

Naruto

* * *

**November**

Hey Douchebag,

I'm writing this on a beach in Greece. But before you get jealous, you should know that it's pretty nippy. I'm sure my nose is red as well. Still, the sea is awesome. Here near the shore, it's dark and grey, and then the further back it gets, the bluer it is, until right on the horizon it's this awesome turquoise colour.

Do you like the beach? I never asked.

I took a boat across, it took a while, but I'd never been on a proper boat trip before, so it was fun. Apparently the sea was kind of rough, and people kept getting sea sick and flopping all over the ship and holding their heads and stuff, but I felt fine. It was really cool up on deck because the wind was super strong.

How are things with you? How was your summer? I know you can't write a letter back to me, since I'm travelling around so much, but I still feel like asking. I was working for most of the summer, helping out my uncle in his bookstore. I earned quite a bit of money, and that's what I'm using on this trip.

Working with my uncle was kinda cool, even if he was really lazy. Distracting, at least.

Greek food is great, I'm addicted to feta cheese. IT'S JUST THE BEST KIND OF CHEESE. Where has it been all my life?

The only real problem here is I can't make any sense of what anyone is saying. Greek is really, really weird. I thought there would be more English speaking people around, but apparently since tourist season is over, it's mainly just locals. These people are cool though. The old dudes sit around all day playing chess or something, but in the evenings after the sun goes down, they sit out in the narrow streets and bring out all these instruments to play these folky songs. I found myself a tambourine, and tonight I'm going to try and join in.

Okay, I have to go now, take care.

Naruto 

* * *

**December**

Sasuke!

It's cold, it's really really cold! I'm so cold. My fingers are gonna fall off! I can hardly write using this pen but anyway, I'm sorry if my writing is messy or something like that because i'm sleepy and it's late and the pen is really weird to hold, but i think you can read it you can probably read it i think.

i just wanted to write and say how MUCH FUN I AM HAVING. loads of fun. i just, we did this thing, it was like, see, we went swimming in the sea, even though it is cold. really cold. whoa so cold. but it was fun! then we were supposed to go visit this guy i don't know someone's friend or something but he said to go to this club and we tried but we couldn't find it and we got lost in the dark and then we found this other club and it was the coolest like reaaaaaaalllly cool. i don't even know how long we were there for cause it was so good and i'm realllllllly happy.

so i'm writing to let you know just how happy i am, you jerk, and i haven't thought about you ONCE.

Naruto 

* * *

Sasuke,

Hey, I think I sent you a weird letter the other night. I don't really remember exactly what I wrote, but I'm sure it was pretty dumb. I was kinda plastered. I'm surprised I managed to send it. Sorry if I wrote anything bad that I shouldn't have.

Naruto 

* * *

**January**

Hey Jerkwad,

Happy New Year! I hope you had a good one. Probably partying with all your swotty friends, right? I was in Kuala Lumpa, which is not only an awesome partying city, but also has an amazing temperature. Thermostat points to 'perfection' at all times. It's weird remembering it's January with weather like this, but I don't envy you guys in England.

The food is great here too, there's loads of street food which I'm pretty sure wouldn't pass health and safety standards but is still extremely delicious and super cheap. I'm sure I've put on half a stone already. Maybe I'm getting taller! Nineteen isn't too late for a growth spurt, right?

I fell asleep halfway through writing this, and I dreamt that a little cartoon crab came and stole my pen. Weird, huh? What do you dream about? Do you-

In two days I'm heading to the Philippines. I haven't worked out how I'm getting there, but I'm sure I will find a way. Maybe I'll kayack.

Naruto 

* * *

**February**

Hey Asshole,

Let me tell you something Sasuke, wasabi shots are not your friend. On the plus side, the weird mixture seems to nix my usually weak hangover into nothing! So maybe we are friends after all. I'm not sure where I'm going with this.

You speak some Japanese, right? I don't speak anything so I'm lost here. The cities are huge, and so, so busy. But then it's weird, because there's all this culture and history and stuff mixed up with the modern things. I went to this old shrine place, and it was pretty cool, although the statues were freaky looking. I had to ring a bell and throw some money in a well, but it was fun. (Hey, that rhymed!)

Everyone here is kind of excited by me, because I'm foreign and have blond hair I guess. I definitely stick out, but I can't say I mind. Honestly, I kind of enjoy the attention.

It's cold again, I feel like I'm jumping from season to season, there's snow here. I have an orange scarf and a puffy purple coat. The colours clash, I have been told, but I am going for insulation, not fashion, and these were the only things in my price range. Still, I think if you saw me, you'd laugh and call me an idiot.

Naruto

* * *

**March**

Hey Bastard,

Did you ever read that book, Murder on the Orient Express? I saw it in the library, but I didn't read it. I bet you did though. I'm in Russia. But I'm not riding the Orient Express because that was too expensive. I'm taking various night trains and doing some odd jobs for money whenever I can't afford the next leg. It's certainly interesting. Right now I'm working in a bakery. I have to wake up before dawn, but we close in the afternoon so I'm free to wander the streets.

It's Spring here, but it's still really, really cold. All these old ladies tie scarves around their heads and totter around. The baker's wife sometimes invites me over for dinner and offers me stew, and this one time I asked what was it in, and I'm pretty sure she said shark. Not sure how I feel about that, but then I think, given the choice the shark would probably eat me, so it's just as well that I got there first. I tried to ask her if she caught the shark herself, but she misunderstood me and made her husband take out his harmonica and it turned into some sort of impromptu sing-a-long. I didn't know any of the words but I think I did okay.

It's... I feel really stupid. All my life I've wanted to get out and see the world. And now I am, and I meet all these great people and do all these awesome things and see all this stuff and all I can think about is you and school. I've been to so many places, but nowhere makes me feel the same as I did just when I'd hang out with you in your room, napping or talking about crap or even just doing homework.

I miss us so much. I miss when it was just you and me, and I'm pretty sure that if it had just stayed the two of us, just you and me, back in our room, in school, in the woods, no fears or uncertainties or distance, everything would have been perfect. I miss the person I was when I was with you.

Sorry. Didn't meant to get all heavy on you. All the cold must be getting to me.

Naruto

* * *

**April**

Hey Fuckhead,

You know I like plants and stuff, right? Well, I apparently got myself to Amsterdam at the right time, because it's peak tulip season. Walking through the fields feels really surreal, like I ought to break into song or something. I'm going to buy some bulbs. I could plant them in a window box or something.

Finally getting warmer, I love this time of year. Remember last Spring, when we went out walking and I slipped in the mud and landed in a puddle? You laughed, but then I pulled you down too and-

Well anyway.

Holland is really flat. A friend said they could give me a bike if I don't mind trying to fix it, so I might try cycling around. Yeah. Okay.

Naruto. 

* * *

**May**

Hey Prissy-cat,

Now I'm finally on the homestretch, and it feels kind of good to be back in Europe. This trip has been awesome, and it's really settled things for me. I was kind of undecided before, about what I wanted to do, but I think I know now.

France is a lot like England, to be honest. Everyone here speaks English but they tend to be more stylish about everything. Makes me kind of feel slobbish.

The other day I went to this-

Look, I just can't do it this time. I know I write all kinds of random stuff and pretend like everything is normal but I can't.

I mean. Shit, Sasuke.

I know you don't care about this, but you're probably not even getting these letters so I might as well write what I want to write. If you don't like it, too bad. It's your fault.

I guess I've been lying to myself all this time. I've been telling myself you didn't really want to leave, that you wanted to stay with me, that it was just bad timing and distractions and complications. I made up so many excuses for you. But I guess I have to face up to this. You're not the same person I thought you were, and you didn't choose me.

Do you even care? Do you know how crappy it felt to wake up alone in your empty room and know that I might never see you again?

What we did, the day you left... I'd wanted to do it for so long, but I don't think you wanted it in the same way. I don't think it meant the same thing to you as it did to me. I thought it would be enough, and it wasn't.

That's it, I guess.

Naruto 

**

* * *

**

**June**

Sasuke,

Just letting you know - not that you care, you jerk - that this'll be the last letter I send. I'm going to be in Europe for the next couple of years, studying pretty hard, so I'm not sure how much time I'll have on my hands to write to you.

Plus, I kind of think you don't care.

Still, I'll enclose my address if you ever want to write. If you wanted to meet up... It's not so hard to get across the Channel. Let me know. I don't really know where you are, so I can't find you, but if you told me, then...

Just so you know, I'm not giving up.

Naruto

End of Part Two

* * *

**AN: **Seldom is organised into three parts. Part one takes place over a year and is divided into months. Parts two and three are not. Here is part two, and following that will be part three. If in doubt, please ask. ^^.


	11. Searching

**Seldom Woods**

___Part Three  
_

"Naruto? Naruto. Did you fall asleep?"

Lifting his head from where it rested against the cool glass, he blinked a few times, coming back to reality and drawing away from the haze his mind had fallen into. He shook his head slightly, giving his uncle a brief smile. "Nah, just resting my eyes." As the bus groaned to a halt he stretched and stood up, grabbing his backpack from the luggage rack and making his way down the aisle past the other sleepy passengers still lounging in the worn blue seats.

He nodded at the bus driver before hopping off and glancing around at his surroundings. It was a little before dawn and his breath came in puffs of fog. The car park was empty save for truckers, delivery vans and the passengers slowly disembarking the bus and sorting out their luggage. A grey light touched everything, painting it in soft, neutral shades. The tarmac of the carpark was wet with rain and dew, slippery under his trainers as he bounced from foot to foot, trying to keep warm.

"Why are you always the last?" Naruto was rewarded with an irritated 'it's-too-early-and-I'm-too-old-to-have-to-deal-with-this' sort of look from his uncle, who then passed him their hold-all which he shouldered without complaint. They both set off across the car park, headed towards the warmth of the rest stop. Naruto patted his gurgling stomach, taking in the scenery around him with a grin: green curving hills, familiar cars and road signs.

Inside the attached cafe, they sat in a small booth and waited for their food while the smell of frying wafted through the room, backed by the buzz of early morning radio. Naruto broke the tired silence. "I'm starved. If the full english doesn't fill me up, I'm gonna get pancakes as well." He glanced across the table at his uncle who had closed his eyes. "You'd better pay."

"It's your food," came the reply.

"Yeah, but you're the one who said we had to come by coach. Cheaper, but at least on the plane they give you meals."

"I used up my frequent flyer miles when you just had to go to that concert in Prague at three week's notice," Jiraiya pointed out. "You're lucky I paid at all. Think of all the wonderful french wine I missed out on for you."

"Don't act like a connoisseur, you just drink to get drunk." Naruto was halted from embarking on a rant damning all aspects of his uncle's hedonistic lifestyle by the arrival of the food. He grabbed for the ketchup and squeezed a large dollop onto his plate before digging in with enthusiasm. "'s good," he said through a mouthful, making his uncle grimace.

"Great, maybe you'll stop complaining." Jiraiya refrained from jumping straight into his meal, opting instead to take a few sips of tea, enjoying the familiar flavour, even if it was weak.

"Hey," Naruto managed a swallow and continued, reaching for a swig of orange juice. "I'm just messing around. I mean, Europe has been great, but it's been a while and you know, all those euros and baguettes and signs in languages I don't understand..." He paused, collecting his thoughts. "What I mean to say is... it's good to be back. I've missed this place."

Jiraiya watched him finish his rambled explanation and dive back into his meal. The weather forecast began on the radio, a girl with a warm northern accent let them know that there was heavy cloud moving over Somerset. "I know what you mean, kid."

* * *

The hall was half full by the time Naruto and Jiraiya had their tickets punched and walked in. A deep red curtain covered the stage and the lights were dimmed as ushers showed guests to their seats.

"Hurry up," Naruto hissed as his uncle strode leisurely through the aisles, carpet muffling their footsteps. "They're going to start before we've sat down." He paused to check the number on an aisle, then carried on.

"You're the one that wanted to do all that sight-seeing," Jiraiya pointed out, not increasing his pace in the slightest.

"I've never been here before, there was stuff I wanted to see. If we'd got the eurostar, we would have had extra time instead of cramming it all in one day." He cut through a row, apologising as he bumped against the knees of a timid looking old lady. Finding his seat, he checked the ticket for the umpteenth time, squinting to read the number in the darkness and then sitting down.

"Maybe you should relax a little, there's no need to be so highly strung, it's just a show." Jiraiya eased into the plush seat next to him.

"I am relaxed." Naruto made an obvious effort to face forward and unclench his fist around the program, releasing the crushed paper.

"You're the one that wanted to come to this concert," Jiraiya reminded him as the lights dimmed further.

Naruto let out a short breath, eyes flicking downwards for a moment. "I know."

* * *

During the intermission Naruto stayed in his seat, scouring the program and extra information, so it wasn't until the final encore finished and the curtain went down that he stood up, stretching and looking around the room as the rest of the guests got to their feet, murmuring about the concert as they gathered their things.

"Well?" Jiraiya headed towards the door with Naruto trailing behind. "Was it worth coming all this way?"

"Hm?" Naruto blinked, then processed the question as they waited to leave, the doors at the back blocked with people. "Yeah, it was awesome. The opening was my favourite. I'm glad they did an encore. It was... yeah. You know." He trailed off, looking around the room, at the heads of the mass of people trying to leave.

"Right." Jiraiya said nothing else until they left through the stuffy foyer. Outside the temperature had dropped and Naruto carefully tucked the program into his jacket pocket, hunching his shoulders.

"British weather," he said with a grin. "I missed it." He turned to watch the others emerge from the warmth of the concert hall, scurrying through the cobbled streets to get out of the cold. Naruto licked his lips, moving to the side again and glancing at his uncle. When he spoke, he lowered his voice. "So... I was thinking, you know, since you're probably tired, because you're so old, and it's freezing you should just go back to the hotel and I'll catch up with you later-"

He was interrupted by Jiraiya pulling out his wallet and extracting a twenty pound note that he handed to Naruto. "For the cab," he explained shortly. "Don't get in any trouble."

"Uh, right." Naruto hesitated for a moment before pocketing the money. "I'll see you later then."

He watched his uncle trudge away - no doubt to spend the evening in the hotel bar - and ducked under an awning for a few minutes while he made up his mind, not really sure where to go. The majority of the concert-goers had dispersed, but he caught sight of a group of boys around his age heading off down a side road and slipping into a pub and deciding he could do worse, he followed.

The pub was warm and bright, filled with conversation. In one corner a jukebox warbled and as Naruto took a seat at the bar, he felt surprisingly nostalgic. He ordered a Carling from the bartender and sipped at the foam, delighted, when it was placed in front of him.

Drink in hand, he took in the inhabitants of the pub. They were mainly students with southern accents that Naruto found equally amusing and grating. A couple of groups seemed to be in deep conversation, but for the most part they seemed to be relaxing. Near the jukebox, a guy was teaching a girl to play pool while their friends watched. Up at the bar, some people were watching a football game on the television behind the counter. Naruto followed it for a few seconds, watching the players run around, but couldn't get into it, feeling restless. His foot tapped a distracted rhythm against the rungs of the bench he sat on, and he couldn't shake a hollow feeling in his gut that he didn't quite belong here, that something was missing.

A few tables away, near a fogged up window, a couple were sitting, quietly chatting to each other. Naruto couldn't hear their voices above the hubbub, but he thought he could guess the nature of the conversation from the way their heads were close together, the playful light in their eyes. The guy had his arm around the back of the girl's chair, fingers moving to occasionally brush her neck. As Naruto watched, the guy leaned forward and brushed her fringe back from her face, tucking it behind her ear and letting the touch linger.

Naruto's hand clenched unconsciously around the beer glass, then he sighed and looked away. It was a long time since he'd experienced that sort of intimacy. He wondered if those two knew how precious it was, how fragile. He wondered if theirs would last and hoped for their sake that it did.

Clearing his throat, he turned back to the bar, leaning his elbows against the counter and taking a few sips of his drink. Was this a popular hang-out for the university students, he wondered. Did they all come here, at some time or another. Perhaps it was well known, you could just mention the name, or even a shorter moniker, telling of familiarity and routine, and everyone would know. At lunchtime it probably served food, the regular pub lunches, cheap and filling. Most students would come once a month or so, Naruto supposed, to have a decent meal for a low price. He looked glumly at a table not far away, eyeing a wooden chair pulled up to it. Plenty of students had sat on that chair, he thought. Maybe even-

"Not from around here, are you?"

Eyes darting away from the lucky chair, Naruto frowned at the guy sitting next to him. He hadn't noticed the sounds of the bar stool being pulled out. "Are you talking to me?"

"People usually look at the person they're addressing when they speak, I'd have thought you could deduce that." The man signalled to the bartender who put down a glass and moved over. "Vodka and coke, hold the vodka." Naruto, halfway through trying to understand what had been said frowned, twisting his features up at the odd order. The barman, however, continued as usual, setting the drink down after a few moments.

Not sure what to comment on, Naruto settled on taking another sip of his drink, not sure he wanted to start a conversation with a random stranger. The guy had dark hair with plain, blank features on an expressionless face. His skin was so pale that when it contrasted with his hair, it reminded Naruto of a photograph's negative.

"Just as I thought." The comment made Naruto look up again. "Definitely not from around here. You seem quite stupid."

Feeling slightly surreal, Naruto put down his glass. "What the hell?"

He was rewarded with a small smile. "But at least you're not mute. A low IQ is nothing to be ashamed of. I'm sure you have a plethora of other skills which are relevant to your chosen lifestyle."

"Okay, seriously, what are you doing?" Naruto could certainly understand enough to know he was being insulted.

"I'm Sai." Naruto blinked at the outstretched hand which after a moment, was retracted. "Did I come on too strong?"

"No, you came on plain rude." At this, Sai tilted his head.

"I'm just a straight-forward guy in a complicated world," he said with a sigh.

"...Right." Naruto was torn between wanting to get to the root of just how and why he was being insulted, and taking the high road and ignoring the unwanted attention.

"Do you play?"

Not understanding the question, Naruto glanced around the pub, expecting a cue but Sai was looking at neither the snooker table nor the television. Finding nothing, he gave the other man a suspicious look. "Play what?"

"A musical instrument. I saw you at the concert hall." Sai seemed to consider his own words. "Then again, someone will such clearly inferior intellect could hardly be expected to excel in music. You probably wasted money on the concert. You should have put it towards a computer literacy course."

"Wait-" Naruto held up his hand, several beats behind the flow of conversation. "You saw me at the concert hall and followed me here? Are you stalking me?" His eyes widened and he put down his glass.

"Paranoia too, you are at a disadvantage." Sai leaned over and patted his shoulder with awkward precision, ignoring Naruto's flinch. "Don't worry. I'm sure you will overcome these hurdles with," he paused, choosing his words carefully, "hard work and perseverance."

"So you did follow me!" Naruto raised his voice and a few of the pub's nearby patrons turned to see. Sai didn't appear to notice.

"Simple minds need reassurance," he said, seemingly to himself. He directed a bright smile at Naruto. "No, I volunteer at the concert hall, and I recognised you from there. I'm good with faces."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I carry pepper spray in my bag, and I know kung fu."

"You are no good at telling lies either, I'm starting to wonder if you have any skills."

"What?" Naruto gaped.

"I don't want you to burn up your meagre supply of brain cells thinking about it, I'm not stalking you." He took in Naruto's expression and without missing a beat changed the topic of conversation. "I take it they're not here."

Suspicion and curiousity overcoming his disbelief, Naruto gave Sai a wary look, as if waiting for the punchline. When he remained unenlightened he slumped and asked, reluctantly: "Who?"

Sai tilted his head again, and Naruto resisted the urge to punch him for just being too irritating to exist. "How should I know? You're the one that's looking for them."

"I'm not looking for anyone." Naruto hoped his words didn't sound as unconvincing to Sai as they did to himself, but from the way he quirked his eyebrows, Naruto surmised it had been in vain.

"When I saw you in the hall, you kept glancing around the audience, you could hardly sit still. Even now you look at the door every time someone comes in. You're doing it again."

"I'm not," Naruto snapped, even while turning his head back. He levelled a hard gaze at Sai. "You don't know anything."

"Shall we play a guessing game?" His silence was taken as agreement. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Why are you still talking to me?"

"Does their name begin with an A? No? B? C?"

Naruto dropped his face into his hands. "Go away."

"I'm being too forceful, aren't I?" When Naruto glanced up, Sai had leaned back slightly. "I'm not very good at reading social cues."

A little wrong-footed at the abrupt change in conversation, Naruto settled back in his seat. "You were a little forceful," he offered. Sai's thoughtful look was replaced with a small, genuine smile. He stuck out his hand.

"I'm Sai."

Naruto took the hand and shook it, a little bemused. "Naruto."

"It's nice to meet you," Sai's tone was solemn. He seemed a bit chided still and quickly returned to his drink.

Directing a sideways glance at him, Naruto shuffled his stool a bit closer. "I'm not really looking for someone." Sai looked up, eyes alight with interest. "I mean. I am, but I don't expect them to be here."

"Do they go here?"

"Yeah, but I haven't spoken to them in years, they could be doing anything by now." Naruto gave a rueful sigh. "I was just kind of hoping I would bump into him. Sort of a destiny thing." He sighed again and took a gulp of his drink, eyes fixed on a row of glasses sitting on a shelf behind the bar.

"I can't say I believe in destiny," Sai said slowly, "but couldn't you have been destined to meet me instead?" The question was unassuming, merely curious, and it drew a reluctant smile out of Naruto.

"That's not how it works." His mind came back to the present and he adjusted his chair more to face Sai fully.

"It's not?" Sai made a face, and it looked so out of place on his blank canvas features that Naruto chuckled. "I don't understand."

"Buy me a drink," Naruto said when he finished laughing, "and I'll explain it to you."

* * *

Many hours had passed by the time Naruto paid the final bill and stood up from the bar. The atmosphere in the pub had simmered and thinned as more and more patrons left. Sai, Naruto had been surprised to find, had been a lot better company than he had first seemed. He was interested in music too, and they had exchanged email addresses.

"If you ever get it together, let me know," Sai instructed. "You'll need someone with a decent IQ to help out."

"I'm ignoring you" Naruto said for the umpteenth time as they headed to the door.

"Naruto," Sai hesitated before opening the door. "I'm glad we met."

Naruto gave him a genuine smile. "Yeah, me too." Sai pushed the door open and they both stepped out, shivering at the sudden change in temperature. Everything looked unexpectedly foreign, and after a second, Naruto realised why: it was snowing.

The narrow streets were covered with a thin, patched layer, and in the light of the streetlamps, it fell steadily, in unhurried drifts. Next to him, hands tucked into the pockets of his dark coat, head tilted up curiously, Sai looked like he belonged in an edgy, black and white gallery.

Naruto tipped his head back, and stuck out his tongue.

"It's just water."

"No it's not." Naruto retracted his tongue to talk. "They taste different. Like winter." He reached out a hand. "It's been a while since I've seen this kind of snow..." His eyes shadowed and the hand lowered, then dropped.

Sai watched him with an unreadable emotion. "Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"Whoever he was, I think he must have been very, very stupid." His mouth didn't curl up into a smile, and his tone was blank, as though he inferred nothing more than what he had said, but there was a strange look in his eyes.

Naruto didn't say anything, and Sai nodded, before walking away and disappearing into one of the dark side streets. Naruto sighed as he went out of sight, his breath coming out as a steam. He turned the other way and took a few steps, feeling the shallow crunch of snow beneath his feet and feeling suddenly heavy and so much older than he wanted to feel.

Sasuke, he thought as he walked, watching the white flakes fall, is it snowing where you are? 

* * *

**AN: **Here is the first section of part three. There will be three more sections, the next of which should be posted on Sunday. ^^.


	12. Longing

**Seldom Woods**

"Great job guys." Naruto pulled on a sweater, obscuring his view for a second before the group reappeared, waiting to hear his input while they packed up. He raised his voice to be heard over the clatter as they put their instruments away. "You sound great. Konohamaru, I think your playing would improve if you stopped trying to look down Moegi's blouse." Konohamaru gave him a dark glare while closing his case, a blush rising up on his cheeks. "Moegi, if you rose your arm a little, your playing could be faster and you'd also obstruct his view." Moegi shot Konohamarou a poisonous look and flipped her hair back before directing a sharp nod at Naruto. "Ayame, your timing after the cresendo was a tiny bit off, but I know you'll work on it." He pulled his jumper straight. "And as you all know, we are still looking for a decent double bass, so keep an eye out, right?"

There was a murmur of agreement as Naruto ambled over to the chair where he'd dumped his things. "Alright I've gotta go, but I'm serious, a few more practices and we'll have this down." He shouldered his backpack grinning at the resultant cheer and walked through the room, a couple of calls following him down which he answered with enthusiasm. "See you on Thursday!"

It was raining again as he walked from the hall, leaving behind the chatter. It had been raining more or less continuously for the past week. Naruto didn't bother rushing to get to his car, he'd dry off during the drive.

As soon as he coaxed the engine to life and started driving, the windows began fogging up something awful and with the windscreen wipers going as well, Naruto could barely see the road. In an attempt to maintain a visual, he dipped his head to see through the clear part of the screen and took one hand off the wheel to fiddle with the heat control. After a few seconds - he had never really understood how the heat controls worked and why it made the windows unfog - he did something right, as the steam abated and the windscreen cleared.

"Success!" He congratulated himself, returning both hands to the wheel, only to come up to a red light and have to break. He took the opportunity to put some music on, the radio signal was terrible and listening to static wasn't his aim. The glove compartment was full of CDs he had burned himself, and he pushed one of them into the player, grinning when it whirred to life and the first few bars of a familiar riff began to play out. It had been a while since he'd heard that one.

The music relaxed him and he rolled his shoulders, flicking the car up a gear as he hit the motorway. The music, patter of rain and background tempo of the windscreen wipers was strangely soporific, and it had been a long day. As if on cue, his phone rang and he mentally cursed himself for not putting it in the hands-free set as soon as he got in the car like he was supposed to. Fumbling in his bag while the chorus of his favourite song played, he managed to find the phone and hooked it between his chin and shoulder, jabbing the off button on the stereo.

He pressed the call accept button. "Hi, this is Naruto, please talk fast because I'm driving." He nodded at the reply. "Yes, I know it's illegal. What's up?" He hummed, then snapped upright."Yeah, I remember, we can totally do it." Waving his hand in denial, he schooled his voice to become more professional. "Time is really not a problem, we're dedicated and I'm certain we can meet your expectations." A pause, and he grinned. "Don't worry about it. Okay, email me the details. Thanks, bye!" He cancelled the call and let the phone drop to the floor where he would have to root around for it later. "Yes!"

In celebration, he decided to overtake the Ford in front of him, and take the toll road home, speeding away from the other traffic. The road veered away from the main motorway to a much calmer stretch and once he joined the toll road, he was able to enjoy all three lanes to himself. It was still raining, but at least with the lack of traffic he had high hopes of getting home earlier than expected.

The windscreen was completely clear of fog now, so Naruto flicked off the heat, thinking he would take a shower when he got home, check his email and then call about the hall -

And that was odd. Naruto blinked, slowing down a degree and craning his neck. Was he imagining it or was something moving on the side of the road? Checking his mirror, he switched to the slow lane and frowned as he approached the figure. He had thought perhaps it was a trick of the rain and the fading daylight, but there was definitely someone there.

Maybe a crash, he thought, then just as quickly discarded the thought. He would have seen an earlier collision and the road would be thick with emergency services. Whoever it was, they were just walking.

The car quickly ate up the distance between them, and as he curved down a stretch, Naruto could make out a few features. To his surprise, he recognised Sai, with his dark hair and pale skin, shoulders tucked inwards. What was Sai doing, he wondered. They were miles from Oxford. And wasn't it dangerous to be walking in the hard shoulder? Wasn't it illegal? And, he realised, hadn't Sai emailed him just yesterday saying he was in Sydney for the next month?

A few more seconds and he drew up alongside the figure only to realise, with a sudden, painful heart beat, that it wasn't Sai.

It was Sasuke.

The chug and jerk as the car stalled broke Naruto out of his thoughts and he glanced down, realising he had let the car stop without changing gear. He shoved it into first and crawled onto the hard shoulder, glancing into the review mirror.

Still there, walking as though he hadn't noticed Naruto's car roll to a halt. Head down, hair drenched from the rain. He was wearing a black suit, and the white shirt beneath it was darkened to grey by the rain. His steps were steady, measured, and Naruto knew that if he didn't do anything, Sasuke would keep walking, straight past the car and out of his life all over again.

"Sasuke!" Before he realised it, he was out of the car and in the rain, calling over the bonnet as Sasuke drew up abreast of the window. "Sasuke, hey!" His voice was muffled by the rain pounding the roof of his car.

At first, Sasuke didn't make any sign that he had heard and Naruto was about to shout again when he stopped walking. Then, as if it had taken him a long time to hear his name, to understand that he was being called, he turned his head to Naruto.

Naruto couldn't breathe.

I'm so angry with you. You never wrote back. How could you just leave? Did you forget me? You look so different. What are you doing? _Sasuke._

"Do you need a lift?"

A tiny frown appeared on Sasuke's forehead, as though he felt that he didn't hear correctly, but after a moment he took a step forward, towards the car. Naruto stared, all his concentration focused on as simple a movement as Sasuke coming towards him.

Half convinced he'd fallen asleep at the wheel and had an accident, this whole episode a result of a morphine induced delusion, he pinched his hand, and was flooded with relief when he didn't wake up, didn't stop seeing Sasuke blank-faced and older and achingly, painfully _there._

When Sasuke opened the passenger's seat door and ducked in, Naruto froze for a moment, before gathering himself enough to slide back into the driver's seat. The heat was off, but to Naruto it felt like a sauna with air so hot in hurt to inhale. The shirt under his sweater was sticking to him. Hands on the steering wheel, Naruto glanced to his left to confirm what his mind was telling him couldn't possibly be true. Sasuke kept his head forward.

Naruto took a deep breath and started the car.

He jerked when the windscreen wipers came back on as he led the car back onto the road, using the safety checks as an easy distraction. They rolled along, the windscreen wipers squeaking and the engine rumbling and Naruto needing to wipe his hands on his trousers every thirty seconds.

"So." Naruto had to pause and clear his throat. "Where are you headed?"

Sasuke had propped his elbow on the door and leaned his head in his hand to look out the window. He didn't turn at the question. "A hotel."

"O-okay." From the corner of his eye, Naruto noted that Sasuke's clothes were completely soaked, the fabric dribbling onto the worn leather of the seats. Sasuke must have been cold, his skin looked pale, but he didn't shiver. He still did his hair in the same way, and a lock at the front hung down, sticking to his cheek. His face was older, nose slightly longer, forehead broader. His jaw seemed more angular and, Naruto had to tighten his grip on the steering wheel to stop himself reaching out, seeing if his was as smooth as it looked or if there was a hint of stubble. His shoulders were broader, but it didn't look like he'd been working out. Naruto couldn't see his eyes, but there was an air of exhaustion, as though just existing was tiring for him. His face was tilted away, but Naruto could see the edge of his mouth, soft and tempting.

How many people had kissed him, Naruto couldn't help wondering. They had been apart for years, of course Sasuke had been involved with other people. His fingers tightened again, the pressure making his knuckles white. How many people had kissed him, touched him, lost themselves in him. Whose warmth had he rolled into on a Sunday morning, slinging a heavy arm over their waist and inhaling their scent. Who made him smile and laugh? Who was it that he thought of when he was alone, late at night?

Naruto didn't notice he was staring until Sasuke turned his head to stare right back. His eyes were dark and empty of any readable emotion. Naruto flinched, mumbled an excuse and turned back to the road.

"Did you have a particular hotel in mind?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood. From the corner of his vision he saw Sasuke shrug.

"Anywhere is fine."

The lack of direction was unsettling to reconcile with the driven, purposeful Sasuke he used to know. "There should be a motel soon enough... Or I could drive you into the city?"

"A motel would be fine." Sasuke was looking out of the window again and Naruto wished he would turn back. His mind was buzzing with questions and he hoped, mindlessly, that they wouldn't pass a motel for some time. This time he had chanced upon with Sasuke felt so fragile he was afraid if lost it would never be reclaimed.

Sasuke had been walking by the side of the motorway, in the rain. Not even hitch-hiking. Walking as though he had no destination, as if was of no consequence to him where he ended up, only that he couldn't stay in the same place. Naruto didn't know what to make of it.

"Where are you coming from?" he regretted the words the moment they had passed, but couldn't deny his curiousity.

"A funeral," Sasuke answered after a moment, and Naruto was so surprised at the straight answer he turned to look at him in shock. Sasuke had turned away from the window now and faced straight forward, watching the road in front of them through the sheet of rain that hit the windscreen. The way he was sitting, not relaxed, exactly, but boneless, uncaring, caught Naruto's eye as he processed the words.

"I'm sorry for your loss." He fumbled for something to say, mind scattered as he tried to think what sort of death could affect Sasuke in this way. A lover? A wife? "Were you close?"

Sasuke evidently didn't care for the question, since he didn't reply. He returned to looking out of the window, turning his back on Naruto. They had reached the toll, and Naruto hardly had the presence of mind to unroll the window and pay the correct amount. He was half convinced the bored, irritated attendant could see every thought going through his head and knew ever aspect of his relationship with Sasuke and how numbingly terrified he was that Sasuke would disappear, evaporate into thin air leaving nothing but rainwater drying on the seat.

As soon as they left the toll road, they hit traffic. Naruto resisted the urge to lock the doors. He glanced at Sasuke who was sitting so still he could have been sleeping. Naruto could smell his wet hair and it set off a myriad of memories that he could barely contain. Sasuke lending him a spare biro. Sasuke watching at the edge of the footaball pitch. Sasuke asleep, nose nestled into his pillow. Sasuke's hair threaded through his fingers and Sasuke's breath heavy against his mouth. Sasuke's skin and lips and hisses of muted pleasure.

He was staring again and cleared his throat awkwardly, looked away. A few inches across, Sasuke seemed so distant, so cool and collected. His mind could know nothing of the flurry and disarray of Naruto's thoughts. The traffic was slow, the rain incessant, and Sasuke still, after all these years, out of reach.

"You never wrote back to me." He immediately wished he hadn't said that. Of course, he was furious with Sasuke, he could write essays on how angry he was, but to lay his cards so openly on the table, to present his weakness so willingly... Yet he couldn't bring himself to take it back. The hurt he had nursed in those lost, Sasuke-less years demanded an answer.

There was no reply for so long that after Naruto's indignation had dissipated, he began to doubt he had ever spoken in the first place. "I didn't have anything to say."

Naruto blinked. "You read them."

Sighing, Sasuke turned once more to face him, and Naruto, drunk on the idea that Sasuke had read his letters, not torn them or burned them or ignored them, but read them and understood a fraction of the pain they had been to write, thought he detected a hint of fondness in his expression. "Yes, I read them."

Sasuke spoke as though he had told Naruto a thousand times or more that he had read the letters, but Naruto ignored it, feeling elation rise within him at even so small a recognition. His mind fell back to the year in which he had scribbled letter after letter to Sasuke, releasing his frustration, his desperation and his sadness with each word. And Sasuke had read them, he realised. Sasuke had read the letters, but never, not once, replied.

"It would have been nice if you'd written back." Naruto wasn't surprised that his voice came out so tight. "You just left, you know."

"I know." Sasuke's tone was flat. He paused. "I'm not nice."

The bland, impersonal way Sasuke spoke set Naruto's teeth on edge. This person sitting next to him, looked like Sasuke, sounded like Sasuke but he just seemed so empty. Where was the spark, the smirk the glint in his eyes that Naruto had been so captivated by.

"I should punch you," Naruto said without thinking, letting the words run straight off his tongue without slipping through his brain. "I should leave you here and make you walk all the way to your hotel in the rain."

"Go ahead," said Sasuke mirthlessly. "If it will make you feel better, go ahead."

And just like that, all the anger drained out of Naruto, the fury that had been pulsing in his veins, filling his lungs, buzzing in his mind, disappeared. "It won't make me feel better." He stared at Sasuke, unmindful of the condensation on the windows and the traffic outside and the squeak of the windscreen wipers against glass. "It wouldn't." And then, as if it was necessary: "I'm not going to do that."

In answer Sasuke shrugged again. Rather than irritate. the apathy worried Naruto. "So," he began, wanting to steer the topic onto something more casual and familiar and less volatile. "What are you doing now?"

Sasuke's eyes moved to the side, as though considering whether to lie or not. "Working."

"Oh." There was a small break in the traffic and Naruto moved through, accelerating to overtake another car. "That's cool... What sort of work?"

Sasuke looked down, maybe at the gear stick, maybe at nothing at all. He seemed to think for a moment, before ignoring Naruto's question in favour of asking his own. "Do you... have a job?"

Surprised at the sudden focus on himself, Naruto took a moment to collect his thoughts, ignoring the phrasing of Sasuke's question. "I do, sort of. It's..." he scrabbled for the right words, "unconventional."

"Not running some sort of amphibian rescue centre then?" Sasuke's words were cool, unconcerned and it took Naruto a moment to process them, before a small, hopeful smile appeared on his face.

"You remembered."

Sasuke inclined his head slightly, as though admitting a fault. "I didn't forget."

"I thought you would have, forgotten, I mean."

"So did I." For a second, Naruto thought he recognised something in Sasuke's eyes, some connection that he hadn't seen for years, but had never been far from his thoughts. Then- "This one should be fine."

He followed Sasuke's gaze to a large motel up ahead of them. "Oh, right. Of course." Even as he indicated to turn in, his mind was shouting at him to carry on driving. To take Sasuke back to his apartment and lock him in there until he admitted that he had missed Naruto as much as Naruto had missed him. Until he got that gleam back in his eye, and smirked and teased him and turned back into the Sasuke that used to try to suffocate Naruto with a pillow when he rolled too close but would wake up in the morning with his nose pressed into his neck, hair sticking up in every direction.

He stopped the car and put on the handbrake. "Here's the motel." Sasuke nodded and reached for the door handle- "I'll walk you in." Sasuke didn't say anything, as though he'd expected it from the start.

They walked across the carpark in silence. Sasuke seemed unconcerned about the rain, soaking him all over again. Naruto was too distracted by Sasuke's presence to pay much attention to anything but the slope of Sasuke's shoulders and the back of his neck.

Inside the reception, Sasuke headed to the desk. Unsure, Naruto hung back, busying himself with shaking the rainwater out of his. At one point he worried that Sasuke might not have any money, but in the next, Sasuke produced his wallet and handed over a card.

Although pleasant, the lobby was plain, with a low ceiling, papered walls and a underlying smell of smoke. Past the counter was a hallway leading to a rabbit warren of passages and rooms while another hallway led to a lounge area. Hoping to use the few minutes productively, Naruto struggled to think of what to say to Sasuke, but his warring emotions kept overtaking his thoughts. Just as he had decided to join him at the counter, Sasuke turned back, slipping a keycard into the pocket of his trousers. Again he was drying off, and the dark material of his suit made it difficult to see the water, but Naruto was surprised the receptionist hadn't commented.

Half hoping Sasuke might invite him to his room, and half afraid Sasuke would turn around and disappear again, Naruto was caught somewhere between relief and disappointment when Sasuke nodded towards the lounge area, but followed nontheless, nearly tripping as he went.

Out of the proffered coffee table and armchair arrangements Sasuke chose one with two seats opposite each other and sat down silently. Naruto, though far drier than Sasuke, still found his clothes squeaked where the wet fabric met the leather. He stared at the round, polished table between them, a menu propped in a silver stand in the middle.

"Well?"

Naruto looked up, meeting Sasuke's dull stare. "Well what?"

"You have something to say, so say it."

His tone was so patronising that all the things he wanted to ask flew out of his head. "You're a jerk." Sasuke made no motion to suggest he had heard, so Naruto tried again. "A jerk. A big one." There was no response. "You left."

Sasuke waited, as though expecting more. "You're angry," he said flatly.

"Of course I'm angry, after everything, you just left, like it was nothing. You cut me out of your life. Of course I'm angry."

"No," Sasuke made a tiny frown. "I mean, you're still angry. You knew me for nine months. It's been years, Naruto."

Sasuke's words were far from encouraging, his tone hard, but Naruto still felt something warm spread through him, because that was the first time since they started talking that Sasuke said his name.

"I don't care," he began slowly, "that it's been years. Maybe we were just kids and maybe we didn't know what we were doing but it still matters, and I don't understand why you fight so hard against it."

"There's nothing to fight against." Sasuke rubbed his temple in agitation, but his voice was calm. "It's all in the past now."

"You're doing it again." Naruto didn't try to keep his voice down. "This is all about your brother isn't it? You won't allow yourself to be happy, to be human, because you want to surpass your brother, whatever the hell that means."

"You're shouting," Sasuke said, voice lowered.

"I'm right, aren't I? I got in the way of your big 'get revenge on Itachi' plan and you ran."

Sasuke didn't say anything, just stood up and walked out, leaving Naruto to run after him. He caught up in the lobby, ignoring the other passing guests and the receptionist as they strode past, presumably in the direction of Sasuke's room. "When are you going to realise that doesn't matter? That you have other people that care about you? That your_brother_ cares for you. God, Sasuke, it wasn't even his fault."

Coming to a halt in front of the lift, Sasuke jabbed the button, not looking at Naruto. "It was his fault. They were coming to visit me. If it wasn't for him, I would have been living with them. They wouldn't have had to visit. It's his fault they crashed." There was something strange about the way he was talking, something mechanical, and it made Naruto pause as the lift arrived.

"Sasuke-"

"It doesn't matter now anyway, it's over." His words confused Naruto even more as he stepped into the lift.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter, of course it matters. How can it be over?" The lift doors began to close and Naruto automatically moved to get in before they did so.

"It doesn't matter, because the funeral was Itachi's." At Sasuke's words, Naruto froze. Sasuke pressed a button. "Goodbye, Naruto." The lift doors slid shut.

* * *

**AN: **Here is the second section of part three. There will be two more sections, the next of which should be posted on Sunday. ^^.

The last chapter had more nice responses than I knew what to do with... I love reading your reviews, even if I am a little overwhelmed at first, I will try and reply eventually when I get my wits about me! 3!


	13. Reaching

**Seldom Woods**

When his alarm went off, Naruto rolled to turn it off, and as a consequence fell off the sofa and onto the floor, sending sheets of music fluttering everywhere. "Bwuh?"

Gingerly, he raised his head from the carpet, not noticing the piece of paper that had stuck to his face, and looked around the room. The curtains hadn't been closed properly and the sun was coming in through the leaves of his out-of-control spider plant. In the background he could hear music playing: he'd left his itunes playing. It was something rocky and upbeat, the sort of thing he'd listened to when he was a teenager but hadn't heard in years. It sounded out of place in the apartment that morning.

The doorbell, which he realised he must have mistaken for his alarm, rang again, and he managed to roll to his feet after a brief collision with a teacup he'd left on the floor. "Coming!" He stumbled from the cluttered lounge into the narrow hallway and unlocked the door."Hi, sorry, hi."

"Package." A large cardboard box was thrust into his arms, followed by a clipboard and pen. He maneuvered the former to his side, so he could awkwardly sign, and with a nod, the clipboard was whipped away and he was left on his own, blinking at the parcel in his hands.

Back in the flat, Naruto dropped the box on the kitchen table and went to find the scissors which had been discarded in the bathroom following a failed attempt to cut his hair. The address was written in a familiar scrawl, so he wasn't surprised when the first item out of the parcel was a note from his uncle, written on the back of a library fine dated 1977.

_Hey Brat, _Naruto read.

_I was cleaning out the study and found a couple of your things. Was looking for the phone number of that brunette from Granada. You know the one with the owl tattoo? She said she'd be over for a holiday sometime soon, but I can't find the number. She'll be devastated, but what can you do?  
_  
Snorting, Naruto put it aside and emptied the box. There was a brown teeshirt he had lost after a drunken night in Italy, an old disposable camera, three odd socks, an old wallet, a worn out paperback and an envelope. All the but the last item were somewhat familiar to him, even if he had no idea how they could have migrated to Jiraiya's apartment. The envelope however, he had never seen before. On the front, in a elegant hand he didn't recognise, was his name and the address he'd used when they'd stayed in France. He frowned slightly when he noted the postmark was from over two years ago. He surmised it must have been forwarded to his uncle who typically had only managed to send it on now.

Abandoning the rest of the items on the kitchen table, Naruto took the letter through to the tiny living room and dropped onto the sofa to read it. The paper was thick and cream coloured, although a little bent no doubt from sitting in Jiraiya's study for the past two years. Tearing it open, he discarded the envelope and opened out the letter.

_Dear Naruto,_

You will find it strange, no doubt, to receive a letter from me. We have only met once, and we barely exchanged more than pleasantries. I found your address through chance. A letter you sent to Sasuke arrived after he had vacated his halls for the summer, and a flatmate forwarded it to our home. Your address was on the back, and I made a note of it before giving Sasuke the letter when he dropped by.

You needn't worry about my reading the letter, or any others, since by his expression when I gave it to him, there must have been several more. The specifics of your relationship with Sasuke are none of my concern, not that the impression I have already gained through his behaviour and your own leaves much to the imagination.

I'd imagine you're wondering, right now, why I'm writing to you. It doesn't take much to conclude that the only common interest we have is Sasuke. To be specific, Sasuke's happiness. To someone who has known only Sasuke and heard his frigid appraisal of me, it would seem strange to hear that I am concerned for his happiness, but that is indeed the case. Perhaps even you can understand better than Sasuke. I thought, that with time, he would come to terms with the choices I made, but he is unable to and his resentment rules him.

It's likely you know a little of our history already and have guessed the rest. You know the crash which killed our parents took place when they were driving to visit Sasuke. Sasuke holds me responsible because were if not for me, there would have been no separation in the first place, but I did what I believed best at the time. Although I regard the details as a family matter, and wish to not to divulge them, neither I nor Sasuke had a happy childhood. While I tolerated it, Sasuke could not, and once I saw it in my power to release him from such a trial, I did.

The problem is that to see the reasons for my actions Sasuke must understand the realities of the life he had with our parents, and that is something he will not do, it is possibly that he cannot. He pushed back the memories and cultivated his hatred of me instead. He has positive memories of our mother, I am sure, though he probably doesn't realise how sporadic, how few and far between they were. I cannot imagine there could have been any happy memories of our father for him.

For a time I was willing to accept that, to accept his hatred and let him remember our parents fondly. In school, he seemed to improve but since then things have only gotten worse. He's locked himself away with his hatred as a barrier to the rest of the world. He pushes himself, but there is nothing he can gain that will satisfy him.

Eventually, I believe that Sasuke will begin to understand and come to terms with what transpired. I write to you, explaining all this, in the hopes that when he does he won't be alone. Don't give up on him.

Sincerely,

Itachi Uchiha

Naruto read the letter once, expression growing more and more serious, and then again, feeling heavier and heavier until when he finished, he had barely energy left to drop the letter and sink into the sofa cushions. He rubbed at his forehead, trying to digest what he'd just read.

More than six months had passed since he'd seen Sasuke at the motel. He'd ended that day being escorted out by security, only to find out Sasuke had never checked it, only ordered a taxi back to the city.

It seemed like a dream. Sometimes he wondered if it had been.

Itachi had sent this letter to him before he died. It seemed like he was overestimating how close Naruto and Sasuke were. A bland, truncated meeting every five years or so wasn't the basis of an intimate relationship. And Naruto didn't even know where Sasuke was right now, with no way to contact him and a whole world to get lost in, they could easily never find each other again. The thought made something in his chest twist.

He didn't know what Itachi hoped would happen. He barely knew what he hoped would happen. Was it even sensible to still think of Sasuke like this? As someone special, irreplaceable? Shouldn't he have been relegated to memory, only taken out from time to time, considered, remembered, then put away, sentenced to death through forgetfulness, until Naruto remembered only the tangible: the colour of his hair, the classes they shared. Eventually, even those would be lost. 'Sasuke' would become a soft, blurred idea of someone he used to know. Someone who, when Naruto saw the two of them in a photo, he would take a moment to remember their name, and have to check the back. 'We were friends at school,' he might say if someone asked, and everything else, the countless things Sasuke meant to him now, would dissolve.

Time had passed, their lives had changed. The distance between them now was further than Naruto, watching a lonely, dark haired boy speak softly to a tombstone, could ever have imagined. How was it that the time had taken them further apart, instead of bringing them together?

Frustrated and tired with longing, he laid back and stared at the ceiling. Instead of the magnolia paint and flimsy cobwebs, he saw dark eyes, fair skin, the barest hint of a smile.

_Sasuke, wait for me. I'll find you again.  
_

* * *

**AN: **This is the penultimate update of Seldom. The next update will be the last. I'm just going to warn you now, incase it wasn't obvious, this story doesn't follow the traditional fanfiction formula. Please don't expect some sort of fairytale ending. The next update will be **Tuesday. **


	14. Hoping

**AN:** Since this is the last chapter I'll do the AN here. Thank you to everyone who stuck with this story, and I hope you are satisfied with the ending. This chapter and the last were editted while I listened to "peach plum pear" covered by Owen Pallet on repeat, and I think it suits the feel of the story very well. Thank you to ButterCat for introducing it to me. Try listening while reading, if you like.

**Seldom Woods**

The cherry blossoms were in bloom and as he stepped out from his car, a breeze swept through them, causing a handful to float to the ground. Naruto watched for a second, breathing in the lightly scented air, before walking towards the stone building. It was early still, as he walked up the drive, gravel crunching beneath his shoes, and the air still held a chill in the shadows. He took the walk slow, enjoying the fresh air that he missed now that he lived in the city.

Ahead, near the entrance, a few pupils were loitering, no doubt on their way back from breakfast. The uniform hadn't changed and Naruto felt a pang of nostalgia and a strange compassion for the students. They were so young. He probably seemed impossibly old to them.

The steps seemed shallower than they had been, and it made Naruto smile as he went up. At the front entrance he rang the bell, waiting for a few minutes before being buzzed in through the wooden doors.

A strong scent of flowers filled the waiting room, originating from a vase filled with tulips in the corner. Opposite a few chairs and a low table was a window to the office which Naruto headed to, smiling as he caught the attention of the lady working there.

"Hi, I'm here for the alumni talk?"

"Your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Oh yes. Mr Uzumaki." She produced a piece of paper and ticked his name off, before glancing at the computer. "Oh, it seems we haven't got a current address for you, but that can't be right, since you received the letter."

"Actually, I got the letter from a friend." He withdrew it from his pocket but didn't hand it over. "So the computer is right." He leaned towards the window, lowering his voice. "The machines... they know."

"Ah, in that case, can you remember to update your details with us before you leave." Giggling a little , the receptionist slid a name tag across to him, which he pinned to his shirt while she exited the office to join him. "You're a little early, only one other alumnus has arrived," she said, ushering him through into the main school building. "You could wait, or I could call one of the prefects to give you a tour?"

"Would it be okay if I took a look around on my own?" He added a bright smile to tip the scale.

"Of course, you remember your way around, I'm sure." Naruto reassured her that he did. "Here's a map in case you forget. There's been some recent refurbishments to the school, particularly the sports facilities and the library which you might be interested in seeing."

"I'll make sure to stop by," he said as he left, pocketing the map with no real intention of taking her advice. The hallways were foreign, different work and photographs lining the walls, different coloured carpet and walls. It gave him a hollow feeling, and he had no desire to have it intensified by seeing the library. Instead, he passed straight through the empty hallways and out again towards the sports pitches.

He felt less nervous than he had thought he would be. The night before he'd hardly slept, imagining a million different scenarios that blended into dreams and nightmares that left him gasping. Now he felt calm. Light. As though he had all the time in the world, all of the panic he had felt on the drive down as gone. He paused in his walking, withdrew the letter from his pocket and read it for the umpteenth time, though he'd memorised it long ago.

Momentarily reassured by the tangible mixture of ink and paper, the familiar words, he refolded the letter, creases soft from use, and carried on walking.

Here there was little change; a few trees had been cut down and the sports hall seemed to have been remodelled, but if he squinted he could imagine himself practicing drills late in the evening, or cutting across on his way to class.

As he walked across the grass, towards the trees that hadn't altered after all these years, he felt younger and younger, the years slipping away. Birds called to each other overhead and there were fresh green leaves hanging heavy on the branches, dewy surfaces glinting in the sun.

He reached the fringes of the trees and paused. Behind him, the school receded. The woods looked welcoming, promising a pleasant walk full of warm reminiscing. He felt lighter than he had in months, years, even.

For a time, he stood at the edge, eyes closed, enjoying the feel of the sunshine on his back, the whisper of leaves on the breeze and the still, timeless nature of his surroundings.

Eventually, reality returned in gradual waves. There were footsteps behind him, coming closer. The wet sound of grass blades of grass bending and breaking. They stopped a few feet away, and Naruto smiled.

"Tell me, Sasuke," he asked without turning, eyes still closed. "Do these woods have a name?"

The End


End file.
